Number Five With A Bullet
by Ame no Megami
Summary: Sasuke never knew there was such terror as an irate Yamanaka. Searching for the cause of Shikamaru's death, Ino demands to be included. Personalities collide and tempers flare, will they enact revenge before they kill each other? Sasuke x Ino x Gaara
1. Goodbye Apathy

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Naruto.

**Pairings**: Sasuke/Ino, Gaara/Ino, some Naruto/Ino, Neji/Ino, Neji/Hinata, onesided Naruto/Sakura, Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata

**Synopsis**:

In the process of mourning her fiancé's death, Ino stumbles upon the truth. He was a victim of homicide. Taking it into her own hands, she wants to find and avenge the one who murdered him. Enlisting the help of his former business partners, she finds herself in a web of conspiracies and plunged into another world of deals she'd never thought she would make. To live under a fake title, giving up her middle classed life and the unwanted attention from Konohagakure's most eligible bachelors.

**Number Five With A Bullet: **

**Part I: Goodbye Apathy  
**

* * *

**  
**

**I can't sleep now, no, not like I used to**

**I can't breathe in and out like I need to**

**It's breaking ice. Now to make any movement**

**What's your vice? You know that mine's the illusion**

**And all at once as I'm trying I can help you out just to keep things right**

**I'll be what you need I kill myself to make everything perfect for you**

**Goodbye apathy, so long apathy**

* * *

The stench of alcohol cleaners, blood and rotting flesh hung in the air was overwhelming as nausea crept in. Her stomach lurched, and if it wasn't for the cold, stiff figure that lay on the dissection table she would've dropped to her knees and gagged. But the sight of it kept her rooted in spot, eyes not tearing away from the pale, bruised face of the young man she called her fiancé.

"_Maa, can't you be quiet for once?" A brown haired man sighed tiredly at the blonde in front of him. _

_Brushing a stray strand of hair from her face, she lunged at him, arms latching around his neck, "It's rare I get to see you," Rosy lips pouted as she left the flowers unattended on the desk. She nuzzled her nose into his neck, catching the slight scent of his deodorant, knowing too well her lazy boyfriend wouldn't even give cologne the time of the day. _

"_Are we going to lunch?" _

_His hands seated on her hips as he pulled her off him, staring straight into her eyes. _

"_Iie, my plane leaves in an hour," He watched her expression falter. _

"_A-Ah…I see," He was always gone, and he didn't blame her for throwing a fit each time anymore. The job was demanding—even more now that the former President was dead. But she didn't know that. She didn't know anything that he did, and he wanted to keep her safe from all the conspiracies. _

"_How long are you going to be gone this time?" She knew better than to ask where he was going. The answers were always brief and uninformative. Like, no one else was supposed to know. _

_He sighed. How was he supposed to break this to her?_

"_A month, two months," She frowned at his answer, "It depends on how long my superiors need me there."_

"_Y-You're always gone," Her voice was low, "I never even see you anymore. What kind of job is this?!"_

_His arm snaked around her back and pulled her closer as she still demanded answers. _

"_You're supposed to be his business legality advisor. Not his personal advisor!" A pale hand clenched onto the black wool pin-striped blazer. She had met the CEO Shikamaru worked directly under during a dinner party…and she had overheard some strange things that day. But none of that would lead to the fact that Shikamaru would be leaving on so many business trips and working until the early mornings. _

"_Ino…" He rarely called her by her name, and she knew it was something important. _

_His free hand reached into the coat's pocket and pulled out a small box and opened it. Pale blue eyes could only stare at the object offered to her. _

"_I've put this off long enough," He sighed and rested his head against hers, "Ino…will you wait for me to get back?"_

_It was the moment she had been waiting for. Throwing her arms around him again, she sobbed into his chest, answering him with a muffled 'Yes'. _

Ino twisted the ring around her finger. One and a half months. He was on the way back from his trip and was killed in a brutal traffic accident. She received the phone call about his death—not instantly but—three days _after _his death and now his body laid on the cold sterile room of a forensics lab.

_What kind of traffic accident was this vicious?_

She couldn't tear her eyes away from the multiple blackened spots on his pale face, the dried blood that clung to his forehead, the broken cheekbone and the multiple blows on his arms that peeked from under the sheet. Her breath hitched as she stared blankly at the scene. The rest of his body was mangled—or so they said—and _had _to be covered.

But for a traffic accident, _why _was his body in a specialized police _forensics_ lab?

"_Investigations are still under way, Yamanaka-san."_

If the cause of death was imminent as car crash, then the investigations should be _done_. And why was she notified so late? She had to set an _appointment _to see the dead body of her fiancé.

"Ah—sorry!" A male voice brought her out of her musings. Swiveling her head to the right, she saw four men, dressed all in suits at the doorway. "We'll wait outside." The blond one spoke, giving her a sympathetic smile as he ushered the rest of them out.

Lowering her head, she said her goodbyes to him.

She turned to the left, where the man who led her into there stood.

"When can I have his body back for burial?"

Behind the mask, the uncovered eye broke her eye contact, "In a few days. We're not finished yet."

Her hands clenched as she choked back a sob, "What do you mean not finished?! He's _dead_," She managed to say the one thing she had been denying all day. "I don't want you picking at his body anymore!"

The four men, who had interrupted her earlier, peeked into the room at her outburst.

"Yamanaka-san, please understand that in our situation, it would not let—" The masked gray haired man was cut off by her screech.

"What situation?! You diagnosed his death! Why can't I claim his body?!"

Her breathing was ragged as the masked man stared at her, unmoved along with the four men at the doorway. Realizing that she wasn't going to get an answer, she kicked the nearby table in anger, sending all autopsy instruments scattering onto the white linoleum floor. She rushed out of the room, brushing pass a raven haired man brusquely as she slammed the door in her leave.

_Shikamaru_

Ino blinked a few times as she stood with her back to the double doors.

_Don't cry. You can't cry now. You promised him you won't—_

Fighting the tears, she heard the muffled conversation behind the door.

"_So it's true…_"

"_This can't reach tabloids. It was announced as a traffic accident, right?_"

"_Yeah._"

"_Give the girl back his body and tell her to bury it as soon as possible. Keep the damages out of sight._"

Her eyes widened. What were they talking about? Tabloids? Why would the news pick a random traffic accident to concentrate on?

She could hear their footsteps coming closer to the door and she spun around quickly to leave, ramming face-first into an attendant heading towards the room.

"A-Ah!"

Blonde hair splayed over the ground as the five men rushed out to see two women sprawled on the floor, papers scattered in the vicinity.

"Sakura-chan!" The blond man rushed over to the pink-haired woman sitting next to her.

Ino brushed a stray strand of hair from her face as she pushed herself into a sitting position. "Sumimasen," She apologized quietly, bowing her head in the other woman's direction as she grabbed a few pieces of paper nearby to help.

Her eyes scanned over the documents as a pale hand extended into her vision. A name caught her attention, and she paused in accepting the help.

_Nara_ _Shikamaru_

_3 bullet wounds: _

_Upper right shoulder_

_Left thigh_

_Lower right-side abdomen (Fatal)_

_Investigations: Uchiha Corp. Underway Private_

She could feel her fingers loosening as everything spun to a stop in front of her eyes. The rest of the document was left unread, but the first part told her everything she needed to know. _He was murdered_. They had lied.

Everyone had kept that from her. _He _had kept a secret from her. The papers in her hand fluttered to the ground as she swatted the extended hand out of her view and pushed herself roughly off the ground.

"He-He…He was _murdered_." She glared at all six of them accusingly, but mainly the forensics scientist.

The raven haired man, who had offered to help her earlier stepped forward, "Please understand our circumstances that this must not be—"

"_Fuck _your circumstances!" She exploded at them and spun around, sprinting for the door. Ino wanted nothing to do with them. Shikamaru was dead. He was dead by homicide and they had kept that from her.

"W-Wait!" She could hear the woman's voice call out to her blurred with the images in front of her, the only destination in mind was _away_.

Their sympathetic gaze, the inscrutable pity in their eyes—she wanted none of it.

Shoving the door roughly, she escaped the godforsaken building and onto the street. All she wanted to do now was run—run for her life, away from Shikamaru's death and away from reality.

* * *

**I don't walk right, not like I used to**

**There's a jump in my step as I rush to see you**

**I could be happy here as long as you're near to me**

**As long as you're close to me**

**Now that I'm alright as I'm trying I can help you out just to keep things right**

**I'll be what you need I kill myself to make everything perfect for you**

**Goodbye apathy, goodbye apathy**

* * *

The blond huffed, catching his breath beside the long haired man as they watch the girl run away from the glass doors. Scanning the area, the taller man noticed a black car with a familiar face.

"Kuso," He turned to the blond, "They're here."

"Naruto-kun! Neji-kun!"

They turned around to face the pink haired girl and the other three men.

"Sakura-chan, who was that?"

She paused as she looked at the visitation sign-ins.

"Yamanaka Ino."

Beside Naruto, Neji addressed the redhead, "Gaara, can you get numbers on that black Benz over there?"

"They're going to follow her, aren't they?" They watched as the expensive luxurious car u-turn and disappeared in the same direction as the girl had run off to.

The fourth man that had come with the group glanced at the forensics scientist.

"Kakashi, what was her connection to Shikamaru?" Ebony eyes scanned over the papers that the woman had dropped.

"I'm not too sure, Sasuke-sama," The gray haired man pocketed his right hand, "But by how she kept twisting the ring on her ring finger, I would say either his wife—"

"He's not married," Naruto cut in, only to be silenced by Sasuke's glare.

"Or his fiancée," Kakashi finished after his small interruption.

"Does she live with him?" Sasuke shuffled through the papers, stopping at one with his late business advisor's address.

Kakashi frowned, "Not too sure, but that's how we contacted her. His home phone."

"She's in danger, whether Shikamaru had told her anything or not," Neji nodded to his partners.

Sasuke handed the papers back to Sakura as he headed out the building followed by the other three men. "Naruto, how fast can you get us there?"

The blond man smirked, "Just keep your seatbelts on and hold onto your pants, guys. We're going to save the princess."

Neji could only snort in response, "Hardly."

* * *

**So don't sit still, don't you move away from here**

**So goodbye apathy as I'm trying, so long fancy free**

**just to keep things right**

**Goodbye apathy, kill myself to make everything perfect for you**

**I don't wanna be you**

* * *

Slamming the door open, Ino ran into the apartment, closing the door quickly and bolting it before sprinting to her late fiancé's study room. The paranoia caught her and she felt herself checking her surroundings twice the whole way back to the apartment.

She threw open the drawers, scrambling for something that would tell her of his death. There was something Shikamaru never told her and she was going to find it.

_Nothing_

It was all random pieces of paper that he had scribbled on. Nothing of any value or information.

_Flight 847 to Sunagakure_

_Departure: November 19, 2PM_

She shuffled through everything. Stocks. Itinerates. Schedules.

_Think, Ino. Think. Where would Shikamaru hide something important?_

Tracing the mahogany desk with her fingertips, she frowned. Shikamaru was too lazy to do anything extensive.

"_Ne, Ino," He nuzzled against her neck. _

"_What?" She was brushing her hair and that tone of voice only meant more work for her. _

"_Can you do me a favor?" _

"_Mmhm?"_

"_Can you put this somewhere safe? Where people won't find it and we won't throw it away accidentally?"_

_He was holding a small blue case. _

"_You mean to hide it?" She was way too used to his way of talking around things that are important, "What is it?"_

"_Ah, just some papers for work," It was his way of answering things he didn't want to say. _

"_Fine," She sighed as she took the box out of his hands, "But someday, you're going to tell me what this wacko job of yours really is."_

She jumped off the chair and ran towards her room, yanking open the dresser drawer holding all her cosmetics. Boxes lined across the whole space as she fumbled through each case.

_Which one did I put it in?!_

Grabbing an Estee Lauder bag, she dug into its contents, pulling out eye shadow cases until she reached the last item.

It was locked.

She tried to pry it open, but only cracked her manicured nail in half.

_Ding Dong_

Her head snapped up.

_Who was that?_

There pounding against her door. She closed her eyes and shook. What was she going to do now? If…If Shikamaru had died protecting _this_…she couldn't let his sacrifice go to waste. And if…he was part of something…calling the police would be useless and she would have whatever he was part of after her.

"_Don't give up so easily," Brown hair brushed against blonde as his head dipped lower to touched her lips, "You love flowers and you followed your dream. Now don't tell me you're cracking under a bit of stress."_

_He took her cut and bloodied hands in his own as he washed the blood away, applying disinfectants to the incisions. The broken vase lay on the ground in her shop. _

"_My job demands a lot," His eyes showed sadness instead of the usual lazy indifference, "I can't be here for you all the time. So be strong for me, Ino."_

"I…" She took a deep breath and rushed to her feet, grabbing her purse to deposit the box as she headed towards the kitchen, staying low.

_Thank goodness for long tablecloths _

She was crouched under a small coffee table holding a vase of flowers right near the doorway. Her body shook as the anxiety crept in. Here, she was defenseless against possibly armed men. Scratch that, they were armed if Shikamaru's wounds signified anything. They killed him on a whim and she was a casualty of an unknown war. The purse was secured against her chest as her heart thumped wildly. What the hell was she getting herself in? Why can't she be like any other girl—who would hand over the item for their own life? Her eyes closed as she whispered to herself. It was for Shikamaru. She was going to find out—find out who did this against him and…and…She'll _kill _them.

The door gave in as splinters flew into the living room and three pairs of feet stepped in. She could only squint as she bit her lips to stop the gasp from escaping.

They were different from the guys she had seen earlier!

A woman with black hair stood at the doorway as the two men continued further.

"God, this bitch really is some fucking housewife or something."

Ino could hear the malice in the woman's voice as the man with short hair chuckled.

"Be nice Kin, she's going to be with us for awhile."

"Do you think she could be of any use?" The woman scoffed.

Footsteps came back as a deeper voice spoke, "She's not in her room or the study room. Though I didn't check the bathroom."

The first man turned to the woman, "Would you like to check the bathroom Kin?"

She could hear the woman shrug, "Sure, why not?"

As soon as she stepped away from the door, Ino bolted out from under the table and ran right out, barely out of the woman's grip.

"Oh what the he—"

She could hear the woman's footsteps behind her as she chased Ino down, grabbing the blonde's long hair, propelling Ino back at her.

Biting her lips, Ino turned around suddenly as she was falling backwards against the armed woman.

_A knife!_

The cold metal touched her skin and Ino could only shiver as she watched the weapon come at her. Reacting on instinct, she grabbed the woman's other hand that was still attached to her hair and shoved her against the hallway's wall as the knife grazed her arm before dropping to the ground.

Kin glared at the persistent blonde before her and retaliated to the sudden counterattack with her fist—sending the smaller woman stumbling backwards against the ground.

Ino saw her coming again for a second hit and her stomach still throbbed from the pain of the last attack. She backed up fearfully as a sharp object pierced her palm.

_The knife!_

As the brunette lunged at her, Ino picked up the knife and shoved it in front of her, separating the woman from her face.

Forcing back the lurch of her stomach as she felt the skin in the woman's abdomen break as the metal was plunged into Kin's body.

The brunette doubled back as she clutched her abdomen where the knife had punctured, the weapon still glued to Ino's shock-ridden hands. Blood dripped from her mouth as she coughed up more. The blonde saw nothing more than blood and death. They caused Shikamaru's death, her mind screamed as reflexes took over her fear and Ino found herself on her feet, springing at the woman with the knife hoisted. Her screams echoed through the empty hallway as Ino repeatedly brought the knife down until a gunshot ringed, embedding the metal into the woman's shoulder. Ino backed up in horror as the form crumpled onto the ground. Someone shot at her!

"Ah, gomen gomen Kin," The short haired man smirked, "But you'll be dead in a few minutes anyway. Blondie, don't try to go anywhere…or you'll end up like her too."

His threat didn't register in her mind as her legs took initiative and spun around—anything to get farther away from them.

The stairs were near and she fought back the urge to breakdown. She just _stabbed_ someone and then almost got _shot_. In three hours, her life took a turn for the worse and now plunged into a whole new definition of unfortunate.

Something whizzed by her head and embedded into the wall ahead of her, throwing her off balance as she screamed and stumbled onto the ground.

"Don't kill her, Zaku," The bandaged man grinned from where they were walking towards her slowly, "Just make sure she can't run anymore."

Her eyes widened as he aimed the gun lower.

_Bang_

Something flew by her head again, this time from behind her. Before she could turn around, the guy 'Zaku' coughed up blood as he fell on his knees, a way behind the brunette's body.

A frown spread across the bandages as he pulled out his own gun and fired at her. Ino screamed again as she was pulled backwards forcefully as the bullet embedded itself into the wall where she was earlier. Another scream followed two gunshots from behind her.

"Naruto. Neji. That's enough," A deep voice behind her halted the two men in their firing and the bandaged man's body fell limply to the ground.

The two arms around her straightened her into a sitting position as she noticed the bright red hair that brushed by her cheek.

Blond hair, striking blue eyes and tanned skin smiled down at her, offering her a hand, "Hi, I'm Naruto."

What the hell were these guys thinking?! Did they expect her to trust them?

She scooted away from them, eyes narrowing and as the brown haired guy tried to touch her shoulder, she swung her bag at his face. Pale white eyes widened as he backed away from her.

"Who the hell are you guys?!"

Backing up against a wall, she was able to take in all four of them. Fear was eminent in her features but at that time, it was the last thing on her mind as she clutched the purse possessively against her chest. The action, however, did not go unnoticed by the four of them. She had something in there, and it was important.

Beside Naruto was the brown haired man with white eyes, then a redhead with the most intriguing sea-blue eyes she'd ever seen, but the last guy was the one that caught her breath. Dark blue hair with bangs framing a pale carved face and ebony eyes that was endless.

The redhead crouched down to her eye level as he answered her evenly, "We're his partners."

The white eyed man held out his hand for her purse. She shook her head violently and tried to bite him when he reached for it.

"Yamanaka-san, we're not here to hurt you." Sea-blue eyes pierced her thoughts.

"Says the gun!" She screamed as she wiggled out of the brown haired man's grip as he managed to remove the purse from her side. Immediately, she latched herself onto his leg, "Give me it back! It's not yours!"

The man pulled out the small case from her purse and handed it to the raven haired man in the back.

"No, it isn't his," The raven haired man finally stepped up as he handled the box with care, "It's mine." He tapped the carved emblem on the metal case.

Her eyes widened as the redhead backed up to let him crouch down in front of her held out the box, "Did Shikamaru tell you about this?"

Ino's breathing became ragged. What was she supposed to answer him? Depending on her answer, would they let her go? The man had turned his attention away from her as he regarded the other three.

"This is it, but I don't have the key," He put the box into his coats' inside pocket, "Search the apartment. If it's not there, then burn it."

"W-What?! Y-You can't burn my apartment!" She sprang on her feet, only to be grabbed by the raven haired man. Turning around in anger, she could only stifle a scream as a sharp object pierced her skin near her collar bone.

And she saw darkness as two strong arms caught her limp body.

* * *

**Everybody is watching you. Everybody is watching me too…**

* * *

**End Part I: Goodbye Apathy**

So…How was it? I was planning to make this a little more serious than **No Laws to Love**, but I don't think I can keep up with the suspenseful atmosphere. So it's going to be more of action adventure/romance/humor fic.

This idea came up when I was watching 'Deathnote' and 'Guns & Talks'

The song is Goodbye Apathy—One Republic. I love these guys since their first release of 'Apologize' in October '05, and they _still _don't have an album out. shakes fist

And if you know me well enough, I like to hit the couples where there's not much spotlight. **t0xicmarker**-chan was the one that insisted on a Sasuke/Ino series There's quite a few good Sasuke/Ino one-shots though…and I've started to like it. So this one's dedicated to her.

Please Review! The more I get, the sooner I get done with the next one. ;

**Ame** **no Megami**


	2. Follow Through

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

**Part II: Follow Through**

* * *

**Oh, this is the start of something good**

**Don't you agree?**

**I, haven't felt like this in so many moons**

**You know what I mean**

**And we can build through this destruction**

**As we are standing on our feet  
**

* * *

Blue stared at charcoal as a frown appeared on the woman's face. 

"You did _what_?!" Her hand flew to her forehead immediately as she tried to hold down the nausea from the tranquilizer the man across from her had so-subtly and delicately stabbed her with.

"For your safety, you have bee—"

She shrilly cut him off, "That wasn't rhetorical! I can't believe you did that! You—You," Ino pointed an accusing finger at him as she felt lightheaded from all the screaming, "YOU JERK! HOW DARE YOU!"

The last outburst knocked her knees out and she felt herself sinking to the ground before two strong arms grabbed her waist, hoisting her back to the sofa. In response to the gesture, she turned and glared at long haired man. No matter how _good-looking _these men were…her fiancé was _dead_ and they had something to do with it. She argued, she cried, but all at the same time, she did not mention Shikamaru's death out loud. It was a taboo topic for her and she wanted to avoid it as much as possible. But the news they just dropped on her. They declared her death without her permission and along with that…burned her whole apartment without her consent. The apartment…

Ino felt the tears come to her eyes. The apartment was the only thing that she had left of him. And now…that was gone too. All her memories, pictures, collections…everything.

"And you! You let him do it!" Ino twisted her body out of his grip, stumbling backwards into a wary redhead.

"If we didn't, you would've been accused of murder," The man behind her spoke quietly.

She whirled around, "I don't _care_! You guys just…just stripped me of my identity!"

"What good is an identity where it only gets you killed in the end?" Sea-blue eyes stared back at her intensely and Ino felt herself at loss for words.

Instead, she resorted to what any other woman would've done.

Ino shook as the sobs racked her body. How could in 24 hours—less than 24 hours, her whole life just turned upside down? She had lost the most important—and the only person—in her life. Then when she thought she could mourn in peace, she was _attacked _and now…she was just declared _dead. _It just wasn't fair. He was all she had, and now, he was viciously yanked out of her grip and every trace of them had been wiped from the face of the earth.

"_Oh crap, I'm late!" The bus came late and now she was running on a thin line to her interview. She quit the last job because of sexual harassment from her boss—and had been living meagerly from the money she was able to scrape up with a part-time flower shop job. She hurried out of the shop, oblivious of the stretched out foot at the table near the doorway, sending her flying through the air as she ate ground. _

"_Oomph!" _

"_Shit," She heard a man mutter as she groaned and rolled over, her knee screaming in pain. _

"_Hey, you alright?" Brown hair and slightly tanned skin came into view as she snapped back irritably. This was not a good day for her. _

"_Well what'd you think?"_

_His thin lips pursed, as a bored look snuck onto his face, "Well it seems you're fine with that attitude," He stood back up, sticking his hands into his pocket as he turned away from her, muttering, "What a troublesome woman…"_

"_HEY! Don't just leave me here!" She glared at the young man, "This is your fault!" Pointing to her scrapped knee, "I could've seriously gotten hurt!" _

"_Well," He regarded her over, "You're not. So quit yelling, you're making a scene."_

"_No, I'm NOT okay!" Tears welled up her eyes. God, she was crying in front of some stranger, but yet, it was relieving to get all the emotions of the past month off her chest. Even if she was using him as a scapegoat. _

_He blinked at her as he sighed, "Fine, let's go clean up your knee and…" Glancing at the café beside the flower shop, he offered her a hand, "I'll buy you some coffee, okay?"_

_Blue eyes stared up at his serious face as she sniffed, nodding slightly, "Okay."_

The tears continued to pour down her face. That was the day that she spilled everything in her life to a complete stranger, and even more so, he listened to every word she said without interrupting. And in the end, he didn't call her selfish or bratty. They had met when she was in a pinch, when the world around her was crashing down. He comforted her in her time of need—over every little thing. He was always the strong one between the two of them despite their clashing personalities.

Yet now, when she needed him, he wasn't there for her anymore. Ino knew now, that he was gone. Gone from her life forever.

"N-No…" She pulled her legs to her chest as she rocked back and forth, her chin resting on her knees, "He's gone…"

There was no longer that warm hug every time she cried over something little, the rare smiles he gives her when she was able to overtake him in Shogi or the long sighs as he helped her around the apartment.

"W-Why?" She peered up at the raven haired man before her, "Why him?!"

Her hands tightened their grip on her calves as she shook in pain. They took it as a sign to leave her be for the moment and shuffled out of the room, leaving the broken blonde on the floor.

* * *

**So since you wanna be with me**

**You'll have to follow through**

**With every word you say**

**And I, all I really want is you**

**You to stick around**

**I'll see you everyday  
**

* * *

"How much do you think she actually knows?" Neji broke the silence that loomed over the three men as they headed to Sasuke's office. 

"Nara probably told her nothing," The redhead glowering at the brooding raven haired man in front of him frowned, "This is a waste of time. You're just torturing a pained woman."

Sasuke icily answered the ex-heir of Kaze, "She knew of the box. Shikamaru either told her, or he slipped up. We're going to continue investigations. I will _not _give this company over to _him_." He was getting short tempered being around the other stoic man. Just because Gaara had faced a predicament, did _not _mean he can suddenly hang around Uchiha Corporations. Damn that Naruto for bringing him along. Maybe a month or two would be fine...but it had reached the one and a half year mark and the other man's presence did not calm his nerves.

Neji eyed the two conversing men warily, they were _not _friends, heck, they were barely acquaintances only through Naruto. And at that moment, the long haired man wished the loud mouth was there to break the tension. He sighed in relief as they silenced upon entering the room and took their respective corners.

They were here, all of them, each with his own reason that all correlated to one person.

The man known as Orochimaru.

Neji tightened his fist at thought of the man. He had taken another one of them and Neji won't forgive him for leaving another person broken and dead. Yamanaka Ino. He sighed at the thought of the blonde woman crying. She was going to become another one of them once she finds the reason. Another vengeful soul, baited by the death of the snake-like man.

The door flew open as Naruto bounced in, followed closely behind him were two women—a short haired woman with white eyes like Neji's and the pink haired woman from the lab.

Sakura rushed over to the raven haired man immediately, "Sasuke-kun! I heard that you had a run-in with so—"

"Go check on Yamanaka-san's condition," He cut her off shortly, blatantly ignoring her genuine concern for his well-being.

The pink haired woman faltered, "A-Ah…Hai, Sasuke-kun." She whirled around and left as quickly as she came.

"You bastard!" Naruto glared at the indifferent man, "She was _worried_ about you and you blew her off!" He looked like he was going to lunge at the heir when a gentle hand placed on his shoulder.

"N-Naruto-kun," The short haired woman glanced at him, "Uchiha-san is probably at his ends too with this situation. You guys should all go r-rest."

Sasuke was thankful for his ex-fiancée's demure nature as she settled down his riled up partner. He had no attraction to the doctor-in-training and he never will. As for the woman standing in front of him, Hyuuga Hinata…they were so close at one time…it could've worked out.

Watching the interaction between the two made his heart clench painfully. Did he still have feelings for the Hyuuga?

It had been too long to still be harboring emotions towards the Byakugan Corporation's heiress…it had been his fault and no one else's. He was lucky she had kept quiet about the incident and his friendship with the other two men—namely Naruto and Neji hadn't been severed by his mistake.

Naruto shook his head at Hinata as he regarded the man behind him, "Oi, Gaara! What did Ino-chan say?"

The redhead just scoffed, "Don't be too familiar with people you've never spoken to." He stuck his hands in his pockets as he started to leave the room, "She hates our guts so far."

Slamming the door behind him forcefully, Hinata cringed at the unfriendly behavior of the redhead.

"Hinata-sama," Neji bowed at the heiress, "We should get going soon too. Naruto and Uchiha can take care of things here."

She nodded slightly in his direction but turned back to Sasuke, "Ah, we should. B-But let's wait until Haruno-san gets back with Y-Yamanaka-san's condition." The raven haired man could only wince as how she regarded them both by formalities now and because her duties as a leader and a friend to others, she hadn't left the room as soon as she entered. But Sasuke could tell, but the expression in her eyes—she did not want to be here with either one of them.

Before Sasuke could add, the door flew open again with an agitated woman in its entrance.

"She's not in the room. I was wai—"

Interrupting her, Sasuke brushed past her, hurrying down the hallway. The four shuffled out as quickly as they could after the angry heir.

* * *

**These reeling emotions they just keep me alive**

**They keep me in tune**

**Oh, look what I'm holding here in my fire**

**This is for you**

**Am I too obvious to preach it?**

**You're so hypnotic on my heart  
**

* * *

Ino scanned the area blearily as she leaned onto the wall for support as she made her way around the maze of an office-building. She was tired and lost—taken 'captive' by a bunch of men she didn't know. They claimed to be Shikamaru's partners…but how was she to know whether to trust them or not? For all she could know, _they _could've been the ones who ordered his death and now covering it. 

Rounding the corner, she collapsed from the nausea that crept into her stomach. She bit her lip from an escaping cry. Why was she so stubborn? Why couldn't she just accept help when it was offered? Maybe…maybe they weren't so bad. The blond didn't seem as mean. None of them did. Except for the brooding raven haired man that seemed to be in charge. Everyone else…seemed trustworthy. But…how was she to know if she wasn't going to end up like Shikamaru?

Footsteps could be heard coming her way slowly as they stopped suddenly from a distance. She couldn't see who it was from her angle on the ground, but her only retaliation was to curl up into a ball and whimper.

"You tried to runaway," The voice held more amusement than concern or anger, "Running away solves nothing."

She shivered at the tone, yet she wanted to call out for him to hold her. He held no malice in his voice—no demand, no irritation. It reminded her…of Shikamaru. She wanted to reach out—touch him, smell him, hold him. Anything at this moment, to have him alive and with her.

"W-Who said I was running away?"

The movements were coming closer and she closed her eyes.

"Then what are you doing?"

"I don't want to be here," Ino choked out a reply.

He stayed where he was, but his question struck her, "You have nowhere left to go."

True, she hadn't thought about that. She had come from a small town in the Fire Country—and moved to Konohagakure to follow her dreams of becoming an interior designer. A big dream for a girl who came from a family of botanists.

Her hands clenched, clawing at the navy carpet.

"I-I'm going to…kill…whoever did this…" It was barely above a whisper, but she knew he heard it when she felt his arm slip under her head and legs as her body was lifted off the cold ground. Her hands instinctively clutched onto his shirt and jacket as her eyes peered up at him.

Sea-blue eyes and red hair stared back at her blankly, "We all are. You're not the only one searching for the same person."

Her cold fingers found their way to his warm neck, "W-Who? How do you k-know?" She shivered slightly, eyes tightly shut.

"Because…he took something away from each of us," Gaara glanced down at the woman who was trying to find a grip on him as he carefully put her weight onto his right arm more, cradling her lithe form.

Ino snuggled closer to his warm frame, feeling her own body reactivate its functions as the shivering stopped from getting more violent. She glanced up at the pale man, his striking features setting him apart from many Konohagakure people. Bright red hair contrasted with the cold sea-blue eyes that never wavered. Her own blonde hair and blue eyes were unnatural for the Fire Country's region…but his…was exotic and breathtaking. Was he a foreigner?

"Who-Who are you?" Shikamaru never talked about his business at home with her.

But if she was going to find his killer and extract revenge upon said man, she was going to have to accept these strange handsome men's proposal of help.

"Gaara," His reply was short and simple, "Now you should rest. Uchiha is going to interrogate you to no end tomorrow."

Nodding slightly in agreement, she allowed the close contact—absorbing nothing that he had said. All she wanted was to be held against someone. To feel their body heat as the world crumbled around her. She slipped into unconsciousness, clinging onto him for safety.

Gaara blinked at the woman huddled against his body, her cold hands seeking warmth as they wrapped themselves around his neck.

Vulnerable. If he could describe her in anyway, that would sum it all up. Again within the same day, she was back in his arms asleep. Her face was pink from the crying and rubbing, and the areas around her eyes were swollen but with the long blonde hair cascading down her back and the slim knee-length black dress—the additions were minor.

Shifting her slightly to his other arm, he started his way towards the elevators. If she had tried to runaway from the room, that would mean she didn't want to stay within Uchiha Corporation's premises. This left him with the result of taking her back with him.

He could hear footsteps running down the hallway towards his direction. Pausing slightly, he turned enough to see the form of the pink haired doctor gasp and stop at the sight.

"S-Sabaku-san!" Shaking herself out of her shock, she ran up to the blonde in his arms, "You found her! She needs to be taken back to the—"

"Iie," She looked quite miffed as he cut her off, "I'm taking her home with me. She doesn't want to be here. Tell the Uchiha that."

"But Sabaku-san," She tried to protest as he calmly walked away, "Sasuke-kun…would not agree to that."

"Tell him to deal with it."

* * *

**So since you wanna be with me**

**You'll have to follow through**

**With every word you say**

**And I, all I really want is you**

**You to stick around**

**I'll see you everyday**

**But you have to follow through**

**You have to follow through**

**You're gonna have to follow  
**

* * *

The dark haired woman glided down the hallway gracefully, her small steps held the mighty status the Hyuuga were worth. But at that moment said heiress was on a hunt for a blonde woman—namely Nara Shikamaru's fiancée. He was a man of little words, only saying as much as needed and was conservative to no end. His movements, his plans covered every aspect without excess work. How could…how could someone kill a man so downright detached from everything? But looking at Neji-niisan and Naruto-kun's sudden antsy behaviors, she knew it could've been the work of only one man. 

The same man that almost caused her death five years ago—but that incident had thrown them together. Maybe she had been in love at that time…but now it was all over. He had betrayed her and she wasn't going to take any of that. No matter how powerful he could be, her status just about rivals his. A year after that they had been engaged…but because of their busy schedules, the wedding was put off for almost a year…and that lead her to know his true nature.

She sighed as the corridor was empty and she turned to head down the other way.

Why was she helping him? Why was she _here _anyway?

Walking back into that office…the memories would never be erased from her mind. As much as she wanted to yell, scream…anything at him…ruin his whole image—her standing as a Hyuuga heiress prohibited her from taking rash actions. She didn't know what he felt at her now—three years later, but he was still as friendly to her as ever.

Yet, she on the other hand.

Anger was all she felt. She still hated him for what he did, she hated the doctor in training as well.

What did they take her for? Some dumb, quiet, submissive quivering little girl?

No. She'll prove to everyone that she can take control.

"…Hinata?" A hesitant deep voice spoke from behind her. It was the last person she wanted to talk to right now. She bit her lip in anger, not turning around as she continued her trek.

How dare he still regard her with such friendliness after what he did?

He spoke again, "Hyuuga…san?" Uncertainty in his voice as he tried out her last name with the honor attached.

Hinata sighed and stopped in her tracks, turning slightly to catch the form of her ex-fiancé at the intersection.

* * *

**The words you say to me are unlike anything**

**That's every been said**

**Oh, what you do to me is unlike anything**

**That's ever been**

**Am I too obvious to preach it?**

**You're so hypnotic on my heart  
**

* * *

Sakura bit her lip as she made her way back to the office. As much as she favored and worshiped the Uchiha heir, she did _not _want to be said-man's bad news bearer. Her fingers clenched at the hem of her skirt as she remembered the day—the day that their friendship was broken, she had betrayed his trust and betrayed her best friend. 

"Hyuuga…san?"

The pink haired woman stopped in her steps at the voice she knew all too well around the corner. Her heart felt a pang of guilt as she heard her Sasuke-kun regard his ex-lover in such formality, and she knew it had been her fault. Her mind told her to walk away, but her feet stayed rooted, eavesdropping on the conversation.

"_S-Sasuke-kun!" Pale arms draped around his neck as he scowled, pulling away. _

"_What, Sakura?" He snapped irritably, the alcohol taking effect faster than he had thought as he slumped back into the chair. _

"_Why Hinata?" Jade eyes pleaded at the man one last time. It was his twenty-second birthday celebrated in a small group in his office. Everyone had left for one thing or another by then, leaving only the pink-haired woman in his company. _

_Hinata…his fiancée was the heiress of her own company and missed out on the party for a business meeting. _

"_There…" He paused as he thought about it, swaying to the music from the stereo in his office room, "Are things that have no answers to. Feelings can never be placed into something as senseless as words…"_

"_Sasuke-kun…then…" She pressed her body awfully close to the drunk man, "What about my feelings?" _

_He tried to shake his head, but in his drunken state, she had gotten the better of him. _

"Hai, Uchiha-san?" Her voice was delicate like the woman herself, yet it held a hardness to it—an emotional barrier as she regarded the man behind her.

Hesitantly, he tried to strike conversation, "Yamanaka-san has still not been found."

"Iie," Short, concise answers.

"This…might prove to be quite a problem," He was unsure of what he was saying in the first place.

Sudden quirk in her voice as she accused at him, "A-And what do you want with a mourning woman?"

He was taken back by her quickly built and subsiding anger, "Yamanaka-san might prove to be of some help on this case."

"Ah…" It was barely above a whisper, but Sakura heard the bitterness behind every word Hinata spoke, "Like how H-Haruno-san was s-sta-stationed as your _p-personal_ doctor." A deep breath could be heard from the usually soft-spoken woman.

"Hinata," His voice was strong and abrupt but the heiress cut him off.

"I'm sorry. My s-schedule is currently f-full," Hinata tended to stutter when she lied, "E-Excuse me, U-Uchiha-san."

At that moment, Sakura's mind screamed at her to move, but she didn't and soon enough, the blue haired woman was face to face with her.

Hinata must've figured that the other woman had been listening and bowed her head slightly in recognition before brushing past her in a hurry.

The heiress had said nothing about the incident the day after his twenty-second birthday, but the empty ring finger had told her everything. It was over.

Sakura closed her eyes as the heiress disappeared down the hallway, but soon a raven haired man appeared before her eyes, taking her in surprise.

"S-Saskue-kun!"

Charcoal eyes turned in her direction with contempt, "What?" He knew she from her expression she had listened in. Why should he care? Maybe he still card for the Hyuuga…maybe not, but he felt nothing towards the pink haired woman. There was no time for her childish whining and crying. How many times would he have to turn her down before she got it through her head?

It had been her fault—some on his part, but it was her stubbornness that drove a stake in his relationship and he could never forgive the doctor for that. The heiress had never given him a chance to explain, but from her expression and attitude…she didn't want one…she didn't want anything to do with him anymore. But at this moment with his company, he had no time to deal with fickle women—yet more just get thrown his way. His mind wandered to the loud and hysterical blonde that had gone missing. She could be an essential in this case and he wasn't going to let that slide. Hinata will have to wait…just a bit longer.

He was in a tight spot right now—and the only woman that mattered at this moment was Yamanaka Ino…and he was going to find her if his life depended on it.

"Sabaku-san…" Sakura hesitated as he scrutinized her. _Definitely _not in a good mood. "Yamanaka-san left with him."

* * *

**Oh, this is the start of something good**

**Don't you agree? **

* * *

**End Part II: Follow Through**

Song: Follow Through--Gavin Degraw

I've just decided to make this like, a super romance-drama. Now we have the Hinata-Sasuke-Sakura triangle placed in with the Gaara-Sasuke unfriendliness. There will be some Naruto-Hinata, but I'll tell you now, that's not who she's going to end up with.

Uhm to explain this easier:

Five years ago, Hinata was attacked by Orochimaru and that was when she met Sasuke (they were 20). At 21 they got engaged, but on his 22nd birthday—the engagement was broken. Now three years later and they're all 25 years old except for Neji, who is 26.

This is just the introduction to the ficcie, so I'm sorry if it's kind of fast paced and hard to follow along with who's who…it's the beginning stages where Ino's still hysterical over Shikamaru's death and she doesn't know who's who. At the same time, Sasuke's in a bind (his story will be revealed later). Each of them is going to have at least a chapter on how they came to all be searching to kill one man.

The next chapter should reveal Gaara's intentions and slightly of Naruto's and Sasuke's own intentions.

At this moment, I don't know yet if it will be Gaara/Ino or Sasuke/Ino…but since it has both guys, I placed it under Sasuke/Ino because I needed two characters. It's looking a lot like Sasuke/Ino at this moment, but we'll see. As someone mentioned…to make alternate endings, one for each guy. laughs That's real cute, and I'll think about it.

As for those who read my other Gaara/Hinata ficcie…there most likely will be a sequel…since a lot of readers are demanding one…and some don't even realize it's the final chapter. Hahaha. Anyway, thanks for reviewing to the last chapter.

Now there's that button down there that will help me with getting feedback from you guys.

CLICKS

Please Review! Thanks!

**Ame** **no Megami**


	3. Someone Else's Arms

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Sorry this came out so late! I try updating once every week—week and a half, but I've just pulled two all-nighters and finals are coming up in two days…which then leads to winter break. I'm not sure if I can get one up then, but if not, then I hope to see you all in January 2007. Hopefully I can get another chapter out before Christmas. :D Thanks!

**Number Five With A Bullet: **

**Part III: Someone Else's Arms  
**

* * *

**Two days and I've not slept a wink**

**With these thoughts that I've been thinking. **

**This is the mark I aim to miss (again).**

* * *

"_We work together only because it's useless and suicidal trying to bring down the man on our own. The only people I can stand are Naruto and sometimes Neji." _

"_Out of the other three, I was second to last of being terrorized by this man—last being Uchiha. My family owned the Kaze Companies in Sunagakure. He assassinated my father—impersonated until he had the full trust of the board, then he cut me from the family. I'm just here until I get my position back."_

Gaara didn't know what obligated him to entrust the blonde and spill his story. But the desperation in her eyes told him that she had lost almost everything that held herself together. There was nothing else he could do to stop the stitches from snapping except ease the tension applied. And if knowing about himself or the others helped, then he'll keep the woman in one piece. After all, he owed Shikamaru a favor.

* * *

**You toss and turn, I lie awake. **

**Who knows what I've been drinking. **

**Another meaningless kiss (to give).  
**

* * *

The raven haired man scowled as he sneezed, rubbing his temple while he flipped through the paperwork. Gaara was supposed to bring the woman in, already briefed about her current situation and all he had to do was confirm the forms and ask her some questions about Shikamaru's activities away from work. How hard could it be? He had even been as generous to give her two days to pull herself together. It was already near noon and the Uchiha heir was famished, having to show up early for duties that had befallen him in recent wake. 

Six months ago, his father was assassinated…that was when everything snapped; his brother, Shikamaru…why couldn't he see the signs before? Both men obviously knew something.

A thumping noise from down the hall broke him out of his musings as it got louder.

_Must be Naruto_

He rolled his eyes at his oblivious, loudmouthed friend probably stomping in to complain about how he missed his exam this morning. The blond was going to fail another quarter of graduate school if he wasn't going to pay more attention to schedules—and Kyuubi Enterprises was the only thing keeping him in the prestigious Konohagure University.

The door swung open, astonishing Sasuke with the presence of a bored Gaara in the entrance. But as soon as the redhead stepped aside, the raven haired man felt the room drop nearly ten degrees in temperature, shivering slightly, he eyed the disgruntled figure.

Blonde hair tied messily into a ponytail, a large dress shirt—most likely Gaara's—buttoned unevenly to droop slightly, showing her neckline and collar bone and khakis that were wrinkled and dirtied.

He glanced at the smug visage of the other man and knew at once. Of course when an angry woman demands answers, you point fingers and direct her attention away from you. Gaara smirked and exited the room, closing the door behind him as the woman huffed.

Yamanaka Ino marched to his desk, slapping down the crumbled and abused manila folder in her clenched hands as she leaned over the desk, glaring at him.

"What the hell is _this_?!"

Replying calmly to her outburst, he pulled the folder out from under her hand and opened it, "I need you to fill out these forms for your new identifications."

Her hand flew to her face, pinching the bridge of her nose as she regulated her breathing, mumbling to herself about self-composure. The pitiful side of her quivered and she bit back the urge to show emotional weakness to the man. Her fiancé was killed _working _for this guy. And all he could do was torture her afterwards?

"Okay, Ino, breathe. Breathe," She was muttering to herself before her eyes flew open again, blue smashing against charcoal.

"I've forgiven you," Ino started through gritted teeth, "For lying about Shikamaru's death, as in some things should be kept quiet to the public. His death…I don't blame you or anyone here for his demise and I'm learning to cope with it on my own."

"The surprise attack on my home, I've looked past, because I owe you so much for not making me a target board. You burned my apartment and I can live with that, as long as you reimburse my loss—which is probably no problem to you."

"You wiped me from the face of the earth—to everyone I know. Easy for a jerk that has half the world groveling at his feet to do."

"But," Her voice lifted, "I am _not _changing my title. Yamanaka Ino is my given name and I will not substitute it to be—be," It got louder, almost shrilly as she waved her hand at the forms, "Nakamura Yui?! What the hell do you take me for?!"

Sasuke sighed at the hyperventilating woman before him, leaning into the table to bring his face closer to her as he rested his elbows on the desk, "Nakamura is a common surname and Yui is popular. We can't keep Yamanaka since it's been posted all over the news and it is not common."

"We _can_," Ino protested angrily, "Because I'm _not _consenting to this."

"You can pick a name from your liking then," He rolled his eyes to the woman's apparent fury, why was she making such a big deal out of it? A name was a name. Hers wasn't exactly the most feminine and delicate name for a woman either. If _he _had an oddly strange name such as Ino, he would've changed it by now.

"I'm _not _changing my name," She grabbed his collar, hoisting him out of his seat slightly, spilling his coffee off the table as Sasuke scowled at her abrasive behavior.

Of course, his sarcasm took that moment to kick in, "And who'd want to be named _Ino_ of all—"

He was cut off as he stumbled backwards slightly, his right cheek stinging from the impact of her palm. Sasuke glanced at the teary woman before him, her irate offense crumbled as she quivered.

"I don't care how many people admire or fear you. I _don't_, so try and walk over me and I'll make you regret it."

Ino whirled on her heels and turned around as the tears fell, bouncing off her cheeks as she rushed out of the door after slapping him. What was the point in crying in front of a heartless bastard? In loss of everything important to their life, some people might want to erase all traces of the previous subsistence and start anew. But Ino…she didn't want that, all she hoped for was to scavenge and hold what she had left dearly.

He wouldn't understand. Those rich, power hungry bastards. They use and abuse, then they discard. Nothing except their status was precious to them; of course he wasn't going to understand her circumstances. He had already destroyed everything that she had left of Shikamaru.

* * *

**From the beginning, dulled down and lost with all its charm.**

**I just want to wake up,**

**Wake up in someone else's…**

**I just want to wake up. I just want to wake up.  
**

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he pushed his chair back to run after the melodramatic woman. If Shikamaru was still alive, he'd curse his ass for having such a problematic fiancée. 

"Yamanaka-san," Reaching out for her shoulder as he slowed down behind her, she lashed out with her arm again, grazing his cheek slightly. Efforts in hiding her tears were futile when she kept on choking and hiccupping from the suppressed sobs.

_Nara Shikamaru_

The man was a trusted family friend who helped them out of their worst times—and helped Sasuke achieve things that he thought he would never be able to complete to compete with his brother. Yet now, as his fiancée was left broken, Sasuke only alleviated her misery in systematic ways.

"_Why didn't you take the promotion?" The raven haired man glanced at the lazy man slouching in the other chair. _

_Shikamaru turned his head towards the heir, "Too troublesome."_

_Sasuke quirked his eyebrow, "A better status? Better pay?" _

"_More respect?" The genius finished for him as he sat up, "Those are just superficial goods, Sasuke; even you should know that. Respect by status is only out of fear and place, not trust. I don't plan on having this job run my life. When you get too caught up in its requirements and establishments, you lose what you started with. Wealth, approbation, eminence; you lose your initial cause, your humanity to capitalism and its monopolistic ways."_

Shikamaru never said more than what is needed, yet he had strung together a mini-lecture to Sasuke that day. He had held himself back because he had something other than his work to come back to, unlike the heir.

"I'll work out the papers for you to keep your name and background," He assured her, with the only thing he could do for his late friend's fiancée.

The blonde didn't answer him in anyway coherent but continued to cry.

Sasuke was reaching his end, never exposed to a crying woman before, "Hey…uhm…" He tried reaching out to her again and she didn't attack him. The raven haired man took it as a sign of acknowledgement.

"I'm sorry…" His hand rested on her shoulder as she shook, "He was a good friend. I knew him since high school, and he hated people fussing over him. So…"

Something compelled him at that moment to step in closer and pull the sobbing blonde to his chest, assuring her in the only way he could.

"So, don't cry. Shikamaru…wouldn't like to see you like this." Sasuke could feel her warm tears through his shirt as she muffled her sobs in it, the hand that had slapped him before was gripping painfully on his sleeve as his hand that was on her shoulder dropped to circle around her thin frame.

For the first time, in the week that he had been notified about his childhood friend's death, Sasuke felt the sadness wash over him, he felt the loss that the woman endured. The unmistakable emptiness that clutched at his walled-up heart, remembering the times that the trio—Shikamaru, Naruto and him back in highschool—then when they met the other two working together under his father's name. The lazy genius understood his tendencies the best, and never crossed him—yet knowing when to stop him. His profession didn't allow him to have time to dally on such processes as mourning and he segregated himself far from all emotions, residing with a tacit sarcasm. It was the only way he could deal with his suppressed mood swings. To take it out on other people. To ignore other people's sensitivity. And this was his fault.

He closed his eyes as her shaking subsided slowly, her body softened as she calmed down but he could still feel the tears pouring down her face soaking through the thin material. The top of her head nestled comfortably in the nape of his neck as he stroked her back, soothing the hiccups and spasms whenever she choked back a sob.

* * *

**Six days and I can see the same brown eyes in this reflection.**

**Is this the man you say I'll be (become)?**

**You toss and turn, I lie awake.**

**Into the sand we're sinking.**

**Holding us back from breathing free (I'm done).  
**

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he made his way to the office slowly, the upper left part of his chest hurting more than his churning stomach. The heavy feeling that weighed over him seemed to have dropped, crushing his shoulders that ached. 

He glanced at the blonde woman taking her seat obediently in the chair, silent as the dead. Her blonde hair was pale as her face, as it straggled over her slumped form as she gazed up at him. He dropped into his seat, brushing the bangs away from his face as he regarded the papers strewn across his desk from her anger. Picking up the first form, he started to correct the filled out information, her sky blue eyes following his every movement.

Ino bit her lower lip nervously at the stressed man before her, he looked worse than when she had came in earlier. She didn't mean to hit him _that _hard. Impulse took command and she had lashed out to protect herself, whatever was left of her suffering mentality. Her eyes trailed over to the red mark she left on his right cheek and her stomach dropped. What if he's angry about her scarring his celebrity good-looks? And in revenge…she refused to be Nakamura Yui, who the hell picked that name?

_What do I have to apologize for?_

She silently watched him scribble away on the crumpled pieces of paper she had thrown carelessly at him earlier, the coldness of the room prickling her skin as she wore only a thin dress shirt Gaara had let her borrow. Closing her eyes she shivered, distracting the raven haired man.

Sasuke glanced up to see the woman wrap her arms around herself, trembling from the set temperature of the room. The uncaring side of him ignored it, chiding her for slapping him earlier—that she deserved to freeze. And if she had enough strength to leave a red mark across his face, she could keep herself warm. He continued to fill out the rest of the form, reaching near the end for her signature and consent.

"Yamanaka-san, please sign here for your ID signature," He pushed the paper at her and watched as she took the pen shakily, her pale fingers wrapping slowly around the instrument.

"Is that all?" The pen dropped from her light grip, her eyes looking up, matching his. For the first time since they had met, her eyes were clear and dry. Sharp sky blue stared at his cold charcoal orbs.

The cutting pain in his stomach broke his eye contact as he decided, it was lunch time. And the woman before him needed some new clothes and to get herself cleaned up before pictures. Goodness knows how picky and prissy women were with their appearances when it came down to photo shoots. He had to listen to Sakura bitch and moan over her driver's license for a month.

"Iie, you'll have to take an ID picture later," He paused as he stood up and reached for his jacket, his lips quirked, "After you get yourself cleaned up." The pain and remorse he had felt earlier was walled up, trapped inside the icebox he called a heart, perfected after years of emotional abuse. His sarcastic and derisive tongue snapped back into work, after all, the abrasive unstable woman was just _asking _for it with her assault.

She chose to ignore the indirect stab at her appearance.

Sliding the jacket on, he proceeded to the door, passing her before turning around questioningly, "Are you coming or not?"

"Huh?" They were going now? Didn't he just say later?

There was just something about that woman, to Sasuke, where he preferred her riled up and irate instead of silent and moping, "Is there a brain in there, or has it escaped through your nose with all that snot you smeared on my shirt?"

Ino blinked at his mocking tone. Who the hell did this guy think he was?

_Stay calm, Ino, calm. _

"Where to?"

"Eat. I'm hungry and you're a mess," His face scrunched up at her pale, tear-struck face and the tangled loose ponytail that held her platinum blonde hair. The large white dress shirt that hung from her body like a curtain was just as unappealing.

From his expression about her appearance, her face twisted to a scowl. _How dare he!_

The triumph smirk manifested on his pale face and she suppressed her annoyance.

"No thank you," She replied haughtily, against her protesting stomach's better judgment.

As handsome and alluring his pale features and dark hair contrasted against, his personality was unattractive as it gets. Plain guys are better, she mused. Ino cringed slightly as she thought of that. Plain, ordinary guys. _Shikamaru_…

"I prefer to luncheon in the company of humans, not assholes," Ino stood up, brushing with futile attempt at straightening out the wrinkles on her khaki pants and strode out the door, leaving a glowering speechless Uchiha in the room.

_The nerve of that woman_

He growled under his breath and stalked after her down the hallway.

_Damn, she walks fast  
_

* * *

**More than words, you keep to yourself.**

**Like a curse that fares thee well. **

**One man came. **

**One truth to tell. **

**All this blame.**

**Hammers your way to hell.  
**

* * *

Ino reached the elevator first, as it opened to reveal a displeased Gaara, a white haired man with glasses, and the pink haired woman from the forensics lab. Her pink hair, tied back by a red ribbon that matched the blouse she was wearing under the gray mini-blazer with a matching pencil skirt. She stared at Ino curiously, her head tilting sideways, as if trying to remember where she had seen the blonde before. 

Suddenly then, Ino felt oddly inferior for the first time in her life under the woman's gaze. The huge white men's shirt draping over her, giving her little to no curves in her almost as tiny frame, the khakis were soiled from her sliding across the ground the previous day…and her long blonde hair was unkempt, unlike the woman's medium wavy pink locks. Even the two men on each of her side stood tall with their designer brand suits—Gaara in a black blazer and matching black slacks and the other man in a dark gray.

The redhead broke her musing as he stepped away from the pair, a look of relief washed over his face as he turned away from them. He didn't want to be in either's company. Sakura was annoying—always asking him about _Sasuke-kun's _health. Goddamn woman was his physician, shouldn't _she _know? As for the white haired man…there was something Gaara couldn't place on that cold, calculating man under the insightful assertions.

"Yamanaka-san, where are you going?" Gaara paused in front of her as the other two stopped a way behind her, as if waiting for the redhead.

She blinked, "Ah…"

Where was she going?

Ino could've slapped herself for being so hotheaded all the time and not thinking things out before reacting and acting. She didn't have her wallet, no cards, no money and no one to go to for it. But she knew one thing: she was hungry, maybe she could still withdraw from an ATM.

"Food…?" She seemed unsure herself, but Gaara wasn't like The Jerk and she glanced up at him, eyes wide.

The redhead nodded, "I'll accompany you, then?" Her face lit up, indulging in his silent, yet non-acerbic company.

Gaara turned back to the two standing outside of the elevator, "Excuse us," The woman and man nodded and Ino bowed awkwardly to them.

They stepped into the elevator that was kept open, and at that moment, Ino groaned. The God of Sarcasm had graced them with his presence, and the pink haired woman suddenly lost composure. She ran up to the disgruntled raven haired man.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you going to lunch? I was plan—"

"I'm busy. Kabuto, take her to lunch."

The woman's face faltered as the white haired man blanched and stammered a 'Yes sir.' The man pushed his glasses against his nose as he regarded his employer, "Sasuke-sama, where are you going?"

Sasuke stuck his hands into his pockets as he strode towards the elevator, "Lunch."

The blonde felt remotely sorry for the rejected woman, but her temper flared at the sight of the inflated Uchiha heir. That was incredibly rude of him. Ino couldn't stand people that were only concentrated on their own intentions.

As he stepped closer, Ino reached over and jabbed the 'Close Door', knowing well that Gaara wouldn't stop any of her actions.

"Take the next one, there's not enough room in here for us and your big duck-ass shaped head," She sniffed as the door closed. **(1)**

Before the metal doors connected, blocking the eminent scowl on the Uchiha's pale handsome face, Ino felt victory as the redhead beside her snickered.

* * *

**I've got a feeling,**

**It's not the safest place to start. **

**This heavy breathing, **

**We're better off breaking hearts. **

**From the beginning, dulled down and lost with all its charm. **

**I just want to wake up. I just want to wake up… **

* * *

The smirk faded a bit as she leaned back against the cold metal, the hair on her neck prickling and she shivered slightly from the touch, damn it was cold! 

Glancing over at the movement beside her, Gaara had taken off his jacket and held it out to her.

"Excuse me?" She touched the soft fabric.

"Sorry, I forgot to give you a jacket this morning," He replied, eyes locked on the number pad in front of him.

Ino felt the smirk turn into a smile as she took the jacket from his outstretched arm, a pulling it arm, his body heat stuff keeping the material warm as she wrapped the large blazer over her trembling form.

"Gaara-san?" His name sounded foreign on her tongue, yet it slipped out almost smooth for the first time as she glanced at the slightly amused silent man.

He grunted in reply.

"Do you know if my accounts are still working?"

The elevator lurched to a stop as the doors opened to let another employee in—sighting Uchiha's partner, he took a far corner from the other two.

Gaara looked straight at her; the piercing sea-blue eyes caught her breath again.

"I can check on that later," His lips quirked into a smirk, "Lunch will be my treat."

Ino could feel her cheeks heat up as he saw through her circular questioning, being blunt as always.

"Thanks," The two men she had just met…she realized were obviously similar—their candid discourse, their sharp assessments, the way they held themselves. Yet the difference was also painstakingly palpable—Gaara was straight but not brusque, Uchiha, on the other hand, was sarcastic and rough.

"You don't like Uchiha Sasuke, do you?" His question threw her off, "I always thought women were transfixed by his appearance."

"No!" she blinked, "I—er—He's a total egotistic who thinks he knows and owns everything—"

The elevator stopped again, letting the man off before closing and continuing on its direction down.

"Which he does."

"Well," Her face flushed at his question. She had been too angry to really sink in the Uchiha's outward guise, "He's good-looking, and I'll admit it. But he _knows _it and he acts like he's better than the rest of us! I can't believe Shikamaru worked under someone like him."

The redhead leaned against the wall, "They were high school friends, from what I heard."

Ino felt her body sag as she sighed, remembering her earlier tantrum, "That's what he told me too." A wry smile forced its way on her porcelain face, "And here I'm acting as if I'm the only one suffering while you guys are just trying to help. I'm pretty selfish too, huh? It was…probably a big loss for Uchiha too." She tried to laugh, her chest clenching, knowing well enough that she wasn't as strong and hotheaded as she acted. The anger—her displacement of her sorrows for her fiancé's death, the only way she can deal with it without holding the guys back. If she was going to avenge Shikamaru's death…she had to stop being weak, to stop crying over every little thing.

"We all deal with pain differently," He answered as he closed his eyes, signaling the end of their conversation. Ino couldn't help but feel relaxed and comforted by his words. With the redhead being her only form of life for the past two days—and sometimes the blond man, Naruto—she confided almost everything to him.

She acquiesced to the silence and played with the helm of the blazer.

Reaching the lobby, the doors opened and they stepped out…

Only to come face to face with a smirking raven haired man, much to the blonde's discretion as she grimaced. All sympathy she had felt for the Uchiha in the elevator flew out the window as she frowned at his amused expression.

_How the hell…?_

"There's more than one elevator, Yamanaka-san," He stated as he glanced at the redhead behind her, "Sumimasen, Gaara, but I haven't had time to question Yamanaka-san, so I think over lunch will do."

She stiffened at the prospect of having to answer questions from a man like the Uchiha heir, but the fact of having to spend her _lunch_ with him made her face contort in an un-ladylike manner.

"I prefer to eat during lunch, not talk."

Sasuke didn't know why, but she was just provoking a verbal war with him—her declaration had been when she stomped out of the room on them. And it was made official when she insulted his hair. The pale man was quite miffed, had _she _looked at _her_ own appearance first? And there was absolutely _nothing _wrong with his hairstyle, because if there was, someone would've mentioned it a _long _time ago.

"If all you do is eat, your name is perfect," He enjoyed riling her; it was just as bad as Naruto. Sometimes Sasuke wondered if it was in blondes' nature to be abrasive and easily get provoked, "Pig."

Had there been a time where Uchiha Sasuke had not smelled impending doom, it was that exact moment. As soon as the unfortunate raven haired man sneered the three lettered word that haunted the blonde since her elementary days, her natural and reflexive instincts kicked in. Three seconds, a swift movement and an incoherent sound from the bystander redhead later, Uchiha Sasuke reeled back, his hands clasped over his cheek as the rest of the lobby stopped all action upon impact.

Ino stood, leaning forward as her breathing was ragged, her knuckles screaming in pain. _THAT ASSHOLE! _

If he thought a pretty face would stop her from making any permanent damage, he was seriously wrong. That Uchiha had picked the wrong person to mess with. And now, he had just declared war. At this point, the idea of her working with them to find Shikamaru's murderer simmered to a low heat. She refused to work with such a stuck-up prick and she would have to beat respect into him if it meant a few more connections with his face. If he hadn't had such a pretty face, she probably would've felt bad beating him up.

Sasuke gritted his teeth together in pain as his face twisted into a scowl. _What the hell is wrong with her?_

One hand on his right—abused cheek, the other grabbed the protesting woman as he dragged her outside to yell, leaving the redhead in question of a few dozen pairs of eyes. Gaara watched as the pair argued loudly, but inaudibly at each other outside through the glass doors, smirking at the blonde's impressive right hook and the Uchiha's damaged pride.

"_Sasuke-sama's new girlfriend?_"

Gaara stuck his hands into his pockets as he walked towards the arguing pair. It wasn't his fault those damn nosy secretaries loved to gossip. Sasuke could deal with that later.

* * *

**I just want to wake up**

**In someone else's arms.  
**

* * *

**End Part III: Someone Else's Arms**

Song: Someone Else's Arms - Mae

Does that explain Sasuke's newfound relationship with Ino? I see him more of a prick, annoying, yet he has that heart somewhere and he's going to realize it someway through the story. Gaara, on the other hand, is the silent but less arguable than Sasuke is. So of course, Ino is going to be attracted to Gaara, but tend to pay attention to Sasuke more. And then it goes on. Something like that.

**(1)**. If you've seen **Bond 007: Casino Royale**, you'll know where I got that from. If you're a fan of 007 movies, I suggest you go watch that. It's good. :D Even though, I'm a fan of the darker haired Bonds (i.e. Pierce in **Die Another Day**) Daniel Craig did a very good job with this. Bravo. I manipulated a line from that for this part. And who knows, maybe more will come.

I could've put anyone in spot of Kabuto. But he's an important part of this story. And you'll see why in the next few chapters. :D

**Tai-for-you: **I felt the need to throw something in totally random. This story was made on a spur of looking around and seeing so many GaaraxHinataxSasuke ficcies and forums and then seeing GaaraxSakuraxSasuke, and I was like, man, Ino needs some spotlight too. Sure, Shikamaru's awesome, but she needs other men! Since Shikamaru's a pimp with like, a chick from every village so far (Ino: Leaf, Temari: Sand, Tayuya & Kin: Sound). What a playa! XD I started this with SasukexIno in mind, it _might _change, but chances are slim. Though as **thunder sister** suggested, there _might _be alternate endings.

**thunder sister: **LOL. That wasn't mocking (bows). I love patronizing people, it's in my nature, so don't take everything I say too seriously. Haha. But I think it's a pretty good idea, though it really depends on where in the fic I decide to branch and make it fully SasukexIno or GaaraxIno and how difficult and long it would be. Though as I said before, main pairing will so far is SasukexIno and Gaara is thrown in…because I adore that redheaded bishie. And if you've read No Laws to Love, we all know Gaara won that one. (smirks) I think Sasu-chan is a little disgruntled and jealous. Though with the possibility of Gaara losing Ino…there's Hinata and Sakura that I threw in too. Haha. Maybe we'll have a vote.

**LostsoulofRegret: **I have to give props to YOU for inspiring me to write a SasukexIno (UPDATE YOUR FIC **Pretend to be nice**) I try my best to update one every week—week and a half. Though finals are coming up and also winter break…so there might be a delay for the next chapter.

**t0ximarker: **Hahaha, sorry it took so long for me to come out with a decent SasukexIno plot…that hasn't been done yet! I guess this one's still a bit of introduction, but it has more SasukexIno interaction, ne?

**apple elixir: **:D Now that you got a view of Sasuke with Ino, what's your vote on this triangle? Haha, thanks for reviewing and I just love commenting on my writing—criticisms are welcomed too if you have some about my lack of good grammar () That's always a big problem for me. I like short flashbacks too! Just enough for you to know what's going on without painstaking details that don't need to be there. I don't plan in straying from the plot, though it might take sometime in between to develop their characters and interactions. Like this one…it was mainly just Ino getting started on her new life.

**Hlomondodeli Majoribanks: **I'm an indecisive person, sue me. Hahaha. It does seem very SasukexIno right now, but from the progress, Ino is going to like Gaara a _lot _more than Sasuke at first. Knowing that she just smacked him twice in one chapter.

**infamous.it.girl: **I don't like to drag things out either, but introductions are needed so you don't go WTHeck?! When I randomly throw something out later. XD Muse seems more appropriate in a later chapter I decided, and since this was a slightly light hearted chapter, I couldn't use "City of Delusion" or "Exo-Polotics" like I planned. And I do think we have nearly the same taste in music (I love Death Cab and Kill Hannah) My choices are more on an alternative / rock / pop and slightly, I guess punk? If Motion City Soundtrack and Cute Is What We Aim for fall into that. X I would totally share music with you. Though I find myself pretty random in selection—Lupe Fiasco, Panic!, Plain White T's, etc…What about you?

**sugarmonkey778: **GaaraxIno is a plus, and it could've turned out to be one, but I think it's leaning towards SasukexIno more. The only reason it's under SASUKE and INO is because I wanted to put down two characters for submission.

**TragicMiko: **I seem to throw everyone for a loop, huh? Hahah, I love doing that. No, most likely it is _not _going to be GaaraxIno, SasukexHinata – but rather switch those two. ;D

**Gaaraswifey: **(pouts) There's so many SasuHina out there! Haha, this is marked as SasuIno, and I hope I make it out alive with that unless there's an overwhelming amount of people who want GaaIno. I'll have a poll up later for you guys to vote. I'm pretty much torn between my two hot angsty emo boys too. :D

**kosumi: **And Sasuke becomes more of bastard. Yessiree. Haha, does this chapter explain his well built relationship with Ino:D Enemies from the start. How fun. The synopsis did say a dysfunctional team who's at each other's throats. I'll try and update as fast as I can, kk?

**sasukesfang: **GaaraxIno seems pretty popular even when I placed this under SasukexIno. XD Well, I've kind of made up my mind on the pairing, but if there's enough disagreement between me and the reader at the turning point, then I will change. If not, then I think I may end this fic somewhere that I can place out two stories, one continuing it as SasukexIno and one as GaaraxIno. I'm glad the plot is somewhat easy to follow along with—along with my scattered descriptions. Feel free to point out any mistakes. I like feedback. Very much so. :D

**MisSs005**: Thank you for reading this! I love SasuIno too. I think we should make a community for this…once it picks up with more ficcies. I'm tired of all that Sakura/Sasuke. Ergh.

**THANKYOU EVERYONE FOR REVIEWING! **

I like feedback so tell me how this one is! (CLICK BUTTON!)

**Ame no Megami**


	4. ExoPolitics

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

**Part IV: Exo-Politics  
**

* * *

**Open skies over me**

**I am waiting patiently**

**I wait for a sign**

* * *

Slender fingers tapped impatiently at the glass table top, the other arm perched its elbow on the smooth surface as the hand cupped the chin of the scowling woman. 

Her face twisted into one of utmost distaste for the man across from her, sky blue eyes clouded in annoyance to a gray-blue as she sighed and let her eyes wander around the restaurant.

"Are you going to answer me?"

Thin lips firmed into a line as charcoal eyes glared at her uncommunicative expression.

"No."

It was a simple one-word answer, but it delighted her to how that one syllable can kick the usually composed man across from her as he seethed through his ears. Crossing her legs, she lowered the hand cupping her chin, instead folding her hands together as she leaned forward provocatively.

"How about we make a deal?"

The silent man on the other side—which she considered very intelligent for immediately learning not to cross her—raised his invisible eyebrow. Ino made a mental note to herself to maybe…pencil one in for him. That would be pretty interesting.

A grunt from the man directly across from her brought the blonde's attention back to her proposition.

"Like what?" It was more like a growl then a question, but she ignored it.

"Like," The pale, once-manicured finger trailed over the expensive silverware, "For every question _you _ask me, _I _get to ask _you _a question."

His face twisted into an indescribable expression, but Ino knew it probably wasn't good.

"No," He stated flatly, as flatly as the back of his head could be, she noted. "Time is an issue here, Yamanaka-san—"

Again that patronizing tone of his made her roll her eyes. _Time. Psh._

"I'm beginning to wonder how important you are putting this case on that list of childish expectations of yours."

_Childish?_

She tried not to scoff out loud. _He _was calling _her_ childish?

"And I wonder, Uchiha-san," The same tone he had used on her, "How immature and stubborn a man to be to not give way to a woman."

"Have you not heard what I first stated?" It was hard; they both had to admit, to stay civil in a public place.

A wry smile tugged at the corner of her lips, "What do you suppose we're doing now? I hardly think this is a better use of that precious time of yours."

The raven haired man leaned back in his seat, his hand reaching for the fork as the food was served.

"Fine," He eyed the self-congratulating blonde, "But Gaara will be included in this questionnaire." Anything to make the amount of questions directed at him lesser.

The silent redhead, who had been wise enough to stay out of their calm-before-the-storm argument, blinked as the salad paused in its destination to his mouth.

"Don't include me in your stupid deals, Uchiha," Sea-blue eyes glared at the other heir as the munched violently on the romaine lettuce.

"Deal," Ino answered automatically, getting a glare from the redhead for once—but she returned it with a sickeningly sweet smile, "It'll be over before you know it, Gaara-san."

He grumbled an answer before going back to his food—cursing Shikamaru for a problematic fiancée as he ate.

"I'll start," Sasuke smirked as he coiled the linguine around his fork, "Did Shikamaru tell you anything about work?"

Ino picked at her own food, the Chicken Alfredo starting to resemble a third grade glue disaster, "No. He never talked about any of his friends or acquaintances either. I only met one of his 'college friends'. Some blond guy named Dei…" She squinted at the name, "Deidara…I think."

Ebony eyes narrowed as he processed the oddly familiar name, opening his mouth to ask her another question, but she beat him to it—reminding him of their deal.

"So, tell me," She drawled out as she scoped up the piece of maimed chicken, "Do you always have a bad hair day or does it constantly resemble a bird's ass?" Ino stuck the chicken in her mouth quickly and chewed.

The redhead, who had been minding his own business until then, coughed slightly, the cherry tomato being inhaled down the wrong tube. Black rimmed eyes dodged over to his partner quickly, the corner of his lips lifting up as he watched the other man turn pink—for the first time—as he vouched for an answer.

"I like to consider it more sophisticatedly stylized than either of you two's tangled jungle mess of hair," He sniffed, quite offended by her blunt question.

_Sophisticatedly stylized? _

Her amused expression turned to Gaara's smirk as she stated out loud, taking another jab at his subsidizing pride, "Though if it was a contest, I'd vouch for Gaara-san's hair. There's something about that unintentional messiness that exerts sensuality rather than ego-inflation."

Ino could've stood up and patted herself on the back for silencing both men at once—the redhead seemed to have the tomato permanently stuck in his windpipe, while the Uchiha, oh if glares could kill, she'd be as dead as the grilled poultry on her plate.

"_Oi, Pineapple head!" _

_She yelled from the bedroom, earning her a stressed, "What?" from the living room. _

"_You're using my hair ties again!" Her voice dropped a hint of humor. _

_A sigh could be heard as he drawled out, "Too far to go buy more." She peeked around the corner to see the usual brown head with a purple hair tie dancing on the top. Ino couldn't help but snicker as she strode over and playfully tugged at his spiky ponytail. _

"_Why don't you just cut your hair?" She was expecting something alongside of 'Mendokusee' or another 'Too far'. But instead, she was faced with an unusually miffed boyfriend. _

"_Really Ino," A thin eyebrow raised, "Even you should know, a man's pride is his hair." _

_She only giggled at his pretend-seriousness and skipped off to the kitchen. _

When they deemed Shikamaru as a genius, they were exceptionally correct. The smile faltered on her face as she thought of the brown haired man—the man who helped her stand on her own two feet and lead the way to her success. The only person, who mattered in her life, was now no longer holding her hand as she took her steps. A sudden lump formed in her throat as the images flew by her.

"Did Shikamaru ever do anything out of the ordinary?"

Fingers tightened on the fork as she strained her voice, "No. Work held him back later than usual each time—and he was never home anyway. But after awhile," She forced a wry smile at the men before her, "You just get used to it, you know? Never having someone there physically with you."

She was quiet for awhile as she ate, contemplating on what she had just revealed to the two men. Ebony and sea-blue gazed at her sudden change in mood.

"Why Shikamaru?" Ino lifted her eyes to the raven haired man, her voice barely above a whisper, "What was he to you guys…that made him…" Her other hand gripped the napkin tightly, "If he was just a victim of crossfire…please don't tell me that…"

Sea-blue eyes glanced at the other man quickly as Sasuke set his fork down.

"It wasn't unintentional," Arms now crossed, "Shikamaru worked directly with my father and managed most of Kyuubi Enterprises. Uchiha Corps is currently in partnership with Kyuubi Enterprises, because Naruto needs to get his business degree before he ca—"

Charcoal eyes widened at the realization, startling the other two at the table, but he shook the thought from his mind. There should be more to it than just _that_.

"How many times did Shikamaru go out of the country this year?"

"Uchiha-san," She frowned, "I can't possibly give you an accurate answer for that right now!"

Sasuke tapped his fingers, the food suddenly seemed unappealing. "So he went on that many trips?"

Ino nodded her head, the tangles in her blonde hair slipped down, "It was always Sunagakure or…uhm…Kirigakure…and Iwagakure."

"There were only five trips placed for him this past year," Sasuke stated, as her eyes widened, "He requested other time off for 'personal reasons' and 'sickness'. We deal with Kaze in a strained way and we have a branch in Kirigakure…however Iwagakure is out of the picture."

Her fingers curled around the hem of the shirt again as she stood up stiffly from the table, the plate left half-eaten.

"I-I need to go to the bathroom," She hurriedly bowed at the two men, "Excuse me."

* * *

**As conspiracies unwind**

**Will you slam shut?**

**Or free your mind?**

**Or stay hypnotized?**

* * *

The coldness stung her cheeks and heating eyes, yet, it kept her from the numbness that took over her body. He lied. Shikamaru lied to her. Leaving the faucet running, she gazed up at the ghostly-looking woman staring back. 

"What did you not tell me?" The salty tears mixed with the water dripping off her face.

Curling her hand into a fist, she closed her eyes and screamed—slamming her knuckles at the mirror as she felt the warm liquid slid down her cheeks.

Reeling backwards in pain, the mirror was left unscathed as she sobbed, stumbling into a stall. Her hand screamed in pain as realized she couldn't move it, Ino clutched her wrist and resided on the floor of the stall—closing the door and leaning onto the wall, she cried.

Her sobs died down as quickly as they came, leaving the blonde shaking on the floor of the tiny room-like stall. The walls went down on both sides all the way—and the door was actually a door that also extended down all the way.

It represented her little coffin, as suffocating as her own heart at that moment as she gasped for air, calming down. So what if he had lied? She shuddered slightly, he was killed…and he was innocent. The long lashes dipped at her pale cheeks, more like, she was hoping that he was innocent.

"Don't…" She whispered to her knees, "Don't make me regret what I'm doing…Shika-kun…"

The door opened roughly, slamming against the tiled wall and shook her out of her musing. Sighing, she reached up and locked her stall. She didn't need someone walking in on her at the moment.

"You sure she walked in here?"

Ino froze, her breath hitched in her throat. What was a male doing in the women's bathroom? If it had been Uchiha or Gaara looking for her, she would've recognized the voice.

"I'm pretty fucking sure," Another man snarled back, "I tailed them all the way here."

The blonde woman held her breath. What were they talking about? Following who?

Footsteps echoed across the cold tiled floor as the faucet was turned off, the second man scoffing, "The faucet was left on, she's in here."

"Oh?" The first man chuckled, "Hey girly? You've been listening to us this whole time?" She jumped slightly, her heart beating fast as a stall was kicked forcefully open.

The footsteps came closer and the stall next door was opened loudly, "Not here either."

Ino could hear then right in front of her door, jiggling the doorknob.

"You in here?" A chuckle was heard.

She buried her face against her knees as she shook quietly. Who were they? And why were they…looking for her?!

_Did this…did this have…Shikamaru?_

The man outside slammed h is shoulder against the door as it heaved slightly, though not budging. She screamed at the impact—a reflexive instinct telling them immediately of her placement.

"Heh, so she _is _in here."

She screamed again.

* * *

**When the Zetas fill the skies**

**Will our leaders tell us why?**

**Fully loaded satellites**

**We can't get nothing but our minds**

* * *

"Did you have to tell her that?" 

They finished their lunch in silence before the redhead glared at the man beside him.

Charcoal eyes flashed right back, "Am I supposed to lie to her then?"

Silence engulfed the two socially-deprived men again as they gazed in the direction the blonde took off awhile ago, the raven haired man's fingers twitching from impatience.

"She's still suffering," Sea-blue eyes glanced at the annoyed Uchiha, "Grief works in many ways, sometimes displacing the original reason as to why someone had started on something."

Through gritted teeth, the other man avoided eye contact, "What the hell are you trying to get at?"

"Yamanaka-san doesn't know what she wants—or what she's doing. The best thing we can do for her is discharge her demand to find Orochimaru and send her home. It'll be the safest way."

The corner of his mouth twitched at the other man's proposition, "After we get all the information from her."

Gaara shrugged, "If we're on the same track, he'll come to us. Best method is to get Yamanaka-san away from range. We've put her through enough."

Sasuke twitched at the other man's persistence, throwing down his napkin, "Whatever, we'll figure this out back at the office." He stalked off to the bathroom in a hurry, the redhead's words irking him. Was the Kaze ex-heir trying to imply that he was heartless? So the woman was suffering. Everyone was going through the same ordeal. What she could do is man-up and deal with her grief. They all lost a precious person.

As he entered the men's, he glanced across the hallway at the women's, the door still closed and he shrugged. Women taking half an hour in the bathroom weren't anything new to him.

* * *

**And I've waited patiently **

**And I wait for the sign**

* * *

She screamed again as they continued slamming at the door with their shoulder, the old wood giving in to the impact each time as she felt the splinters fall on her. Scrambling to her feet, she pulled the toilet cover down and sat across the door, her legs pressing against it for more friction. 

Then again, she screamed for help. Damn these tiles, the sound bounced around the woman…but most likely not heard outside.

"Ne, Yamanaka-san," The voice of the first man, "It'll be easier if you'd just come out. We're not here to _kill _you. We just want some answers."

She struggled against the door. _Why does everyone want answers?!_

"I-I don't know anything!" She choked out, half screaming, half crying, "I swear, I don't!"

The voice chuckled again, "Sorry girly, we're just here to get you. It's up to our boss to decide that."

A shoulder slammed against the door again and she screamed, this time, repeatedly. Someone was bound to hear her. Anyone. Someone _had _to hear her or have to go to the bathroom.

The next impact shook her as the door splintered open and she covered her head, curling up her knees to hide her face in as she screamed into her thighs. She glanced up as soon as the pieces settled to see two tall men smiling back at her as she trembled.

"W-Who are you?"

Pitch black hair and dark eyes greeted her as she sporadically shivered and tried to inch towards the wall, away from them.

Mouths quirked up into a smirk, "Oh, now that's not important."

The taller of the two took a step at her and she let out an ear piercing screech, which made him stumble backwards.

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

He glowered at her, "Look missy, if you're not going to comply. I can't guarantee you're getting out of here unscathed."

"I DON'T WANT TO GO ANYWHERE!" She screamed again, shaking her head furiously as she curled up on the toilet cover, "GO AWAY!"

Both men visibly winced at her lung capacity as she wailed. They nervously glanced at the bathroom door—but no one was there and they advanced.

* * *

**Carried through the centuries**

**Secrets locked up**

**And loaded on my back**

**Well it weighs me down**

* * *

Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose as he exited the bathroom. There was an oddly strange echoing and it gave him a huge migraine. At the entrance of the hallway, he glanced at the table where the redhead was still seated—though no blonde head was visible. 

_What the heck is she doing in there?_

The raven haired man sighed and let his impatience over take him, striding over to the women's bathroom, raising his knuckles to knock—just in case.

* * *

**When the Zetas fill the skies**

**It's just our leaders in disguise**

**Fully loaded satellites**

**We can't get nothing but our minds**

* * *

She wriggled in the man's grip, catching his legs in her as she placed a well-aimed kick at his knee cap—sending his leg backwards into the splintered wood that pierced into his calf. 

He winced at the incision and slapped the woman promptly, "Quit moving the fuck around!"

The other man pulled her roughly to her feet, his grip tightening on her wrists bound in the back.

"Alright girly, we're going to exit quietly, right?" The gun jabbed at her vertebrae column, "Or some not-so nice things are going to happen."

Snarling back at them, she tried to stand her ground, only to be dragged forcibly by the man while the other one limped along.

"I thought you needed me alive."

The lips twisted into a smile, "Doesn't mean we can't take you apart."

She quieted down immediately at his threat, but still refused to budge, making the trip to the door slower.

"We're called the Demon Brothers, does that tell you anything?"

"That you like basketball?" Her answer only made him laugh as he dragged her along.

"Go check the door."

The limping man nodded, poking his head out into the hallway—sensing nothing, he motioned for the other two to come out.

"Scream and I'll shoot."

She clenched her teeth, debating over her options. Who knew what they were going to do with her wherever they were going to take her? How fast were the security and Uchiha and Gaara-san's reactions?

As they struggled out the bathroom door, her eyes widened as she was directed towards an alternative exit.

_Scream?_

She tried to dig her heels into the carpet—making the man behind her stop as he tried to push her forward as indiscreetly as he could. The limping man in front of them turned around to glare at the two, but his eyes widened. But before his brain could register the sight, the man behind Ino crumpled into a heap—red splattering all over her hair and back as his eyes rolled up—the other man flying backwards, clutching his shoulder.

Her mouth opened to scream as she felt the body and warm liquid seep into her clothes, but nothing came out as she fell under his weight. Moving around furiously, she tried not to look at the punctured head of the man that had her captive.

"Shhh," A soothing voice broke through her scrambled thoughts as she tried to wriggle out from under the dead man's weight. The body lifted off her as she struggled into a sitting position, the redhead in her view and she automatically clutched onto him.

Gaara allowed her to cling onto him, wrapping his free arm around her trembling figure as he lowered the silencer, obscuring it from her view. Lifting her gently to her feet, he glanced at the Uchiha, who had the second man—alive but bleeding profusely and moved them over to the other two.

"Uchiha," The raven haired man 'hn'ed in response as he kept his attention on the cowering man in pain, "Take her somewhere safe, I'll handle this mess."

Charcoal eyes blinked at the blonde woman clasp to the redhead's side, "She seems more content with you."

Gaara glowered at the other man, "We need to take her somewhere with heightened security—where people outside from close relations are not allowed. You have more access to that than I do. Uchiha Corp is too open—they followed us here, then they would probably be at your company too. Don't take her back to either of our places."

The redhead hoped the raven haired man understood his drift—because there was only one place that would be 'haven' for the blonde's current situation.

Sasuke narrowed his eyes at the Kaze ex-heir's proposition. He wasn't serious, was he? A quick glance as the trembling woman with blood splattered over her clothes and smeared on her pale face—wide blue eyes darting around frantically told him otherwise.

He sighed and stood up, never moving the silencer directed at the heavily breathing man. Stepping closer to the pair, he outstretched a hand at the blonde, who just stared at it.

"Yamanaka-san, let's go."

She shook her head and clutched onto the redhead's shirt tighter, her eyes never leaving the silencer in his other hand.

"Put it away," The redhead jerked his head to the weapon in the Uchiha's hand.

He sighed and tucked it back into his jacket flap, watching the blonde's blue eyes that never left him.

"Let's go," This time she nodded at him, letting go hesitantly of the redhead as she followed the raven haired man quietly.

He exited the backdoor—the cooks giving him awkward glances—but said nothing because he _was _the Uchiha. The blonde right on his heels, though she didn't cling onto him like she had done the redhead. That only put the Uchiha's fowl mood worse. So what if she trusted Sabaku more than him. Sasuke glowered at the fact that _he _was the one running this operation, yet his sources go through someone else and trust someone else _better_.

They had even arrived in two different cars—Yamanaka refusing to be in the same vehicle as him.

Reaching his black Mustang, he opened the door for her as she hesitated.

"What?" She flinched—he hadn't meant to sound that harsh.

Her lips twisted, "I'm covered with blood…and your car…"

Sasuke raised a finely touched eyebrow at her observation, "I can get the seats changed later," He noted the muted look on her face and he couldn't help but jab at her again, "Or you can take the shirt off."

Her eyes widened as the previous shock wore off by his words, a more defensive one settled in, "What?!" Her hands possessively flew up to her chest as she stared at him before scrambling into the car.

Taking his seat, he started the car promptly—browsing his phone list as he maneuvered out of the parking lot—noticing how her eyes still dart around the premises.

"Lay back the chair if you're so paranoid."

She stopped the fidgeting and sat in silence instead.

A smirk played on his lips as he brought the phone to his ear. She was too easy to rile up even in such a state.

The ringing stopped as he reached the voicemail message, scowling as he jabbed redial.

_This is no time to be ignoring me…_

As he waited for it to ring again, a word fell out of her mouth, catching the attention of the male.

"Pervert."

His eyebrow lifted at her choice, "What?" When it was said women were incredibly moody—they were right. Frozen in fear one moment and then defensive the next. Yamanaka Ino, from his digression, was the ultimate case as she sat there, previous shock replaced with evenly displaced sarcasm.

Sky blue eyes met his gaze evenly, "You heard me."

"What makes you say that?"

Lips curved up into a sardonic smirk, "It's always the rich ones who have that suppression of urges and always feel the need to displace it by using other women."

He scoffed at her analysis, "Or it could be the woman that vies for the man, thus throwing them in such a dilemma."

The blonde seemed to have relaxed considerably—much to his approval—he'll just humor from here on if it helped her anxiety.

"Really. Who is this said-woman then? The pink haired woman?" Finely plucked eyebrows rose as she turned her smirking face towards him.

He seemed to be taken back by her observation—the mention of the doctor-in-training that had _ruined _his relationship made his face twist into a scowl again. But the blonde mistook it for a love-gone-wrong.

"No. Don't you ever mention that again."

She flinched slightly from his sudden change in tone, but another voice snapped them out of their argument—both forgotten about the fact that his phone had stopped ringing awhile ago, and that the person had picked up, listening to them the whole time.

"_U-Uchiha-san?_"

The meek feminine voice made him double over with a mental '_Fuck_'.

"Hinata!" He forgot the honorific again, "Please listen—this is urgent."

What other place with heightened twenty-four hour security? _Hyuuga Complex_

Ino glanced at the raven haired man talking on the phone with the other woman—his tone was different…it wasn't harsh—he actually sounded _human_ communicating with her. No anger or aloofness like towards the pink-haired woman, no business-like detachment when directed at Gaara and more importantly—no sarcasm and hardness when he spoke to her.

She might be blonde, but she wasn't _stupid_, Ino was going to learn a thing or two from this woman if it meant Uchiha-asshole would appreciate her like a woman and not an object.

He hung up the phone abrupt, resuming both hands on the wheel as he sped up.

"I'm taking you to the Hyuuga Complex."

Ino perked up at the name of a _new _place, "What for?"

Sasuke turned to the blonde fiddling with his radio options as his face scrunched up, "So you can shower and I won't be compelled to send you back to the barn you came from."

A bruised fist rose near his face but was restrained, "I have no qualms from hitting your womanly features; you know that?"

His face quirked into a smirk, "I very well know that. Though I'm starting to suspect it's just from your zealous jealousy of my far superior features."

They pulled up to a huge gate that opened upon sight.

"And you're admitting that you're a woman? New revelation from the almighty Uchiha!"

He glanced at her still raised fist, "How did you get that bruise?"

Ino blinked as she stared at her hand, remember her distraught state as she stammered, "I—uh—punched…yeah." She shrugged. What was the point of telling him she hit a mirror? He was just going say that she abuse inanimate objects and call her a mental case.

The car stopped in front of a manor as the raven haired man turned to the blonde, his eyebrows raising as she shot him a death glare—daring him to say what was on his mind.

Sasuke smirked, "Hard enough to bruise? You truly are a beast."

Somewhere inside the small heart of Yamanaka Ino, a vein popped—whatever love that flowed through for Uchiha Sasuke was disconnected as the fist rose. She took the chance to place a well-aimed punch at his head, causing the boy's head to bounce to the other side of the window—as her bruised knuckles screamed in pain again as they both yelled in agony.

"WHAT THE FUCK?!" Both hands flew up.

"YOU—ARGH!" She cradled her hand.

He reached over and grabbed the blonde on the shoulder as his other hand clutched his head while the woman pressed her damaged hand against her chest—both screaming atrocities at each other, unaware of the three that watched them on the other side.

"U-Uchiha-san?"

Lavender eyes blinked, messy brown hair and fangs smirked, and a pair of dark sunglasses regarded the two.

_Oh fuck_

* * *

**I'm waiting patiently**

**And I'll wait for the sign, yeah**

* * *

**End Part IV: Exo-Politics**

Ah, sorry this took awhile. My Organic Chemistry final just kicked me in the ass than laughed in my face and I was feeling a little down for awhile. TT I still have my Biology final…but I think I have a secure enough grade. ::laughs::

Demon Brothers, I almost forgot about those canon-fodders during the Country of the Wave Arc. :D Gotta love unnamed characters.

**Infamous.it.girl**: Haha, yeah I seem to move around main characters too. Hinata, Temari and Ino are my three favorite female leads ( I never liked Sakura in the first place, and it only changed to being 'bearable' now) I think Kin could work…she's one of those underdeveloped that's almost too easy to manipulate. Haha. It snows where you live? That's totally awesome ( I have to drive four hours to get to snow). :D It's also totally awesome how we have the same taste in music—I've just recently downloaded The Fray-How to Save a Life album and the new AFI one. I love Matchbox Romace and Three Days Grace…Thrice is also up there in my list with the Weakerthans, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers and Keane. Haha, and I'm so glad I found myself a faithful reviewer! 3 Much Love from Ame-chan to you!

**Tai-for-you**: You know, you're really close and perceptive. But I'm not telling. Teehee! Casino Royale Excellet, a must-see if you're a Bond fan—or not a Bond fan, it's still great. The chapters from now on, will be more balanced between Action and Humor and I'm planning to progress their relationship slowly. :D Thank you for reviewing!

**-Death-Tainted-Rose-**: Join the SasuIno fandom! We need a community for decent SasuIno ficcies out there! I try to portray them as realistically as possible—in their current situations so it's hard to keep the whole 'original' aspects for their personalities—so just knock me on the head when I make them too OOC.

**Thunder sister**: Haha, I love your enthusiasm! And I've thought about it, I probably will bridge this fic (since there's such a divided fanbase. So don't you worry about it, Gaa-chan will get as much attention as Sasu-chan, because I did put this down as SasuInoGaa. :D Stick with me here! Hahah.

**LostsoulofRegret**: So I'm noticing the pattern. I update, you update. Heh. So if I update more often, will you:D **Pretend to be Nice** and **Hlomondodeli Majoribank's Moonlight Shadow** were the two SasuInos that got me into this pairing. Thanks for updating! And I'm waiting for yours too!

**Hlomondodeli Majoribanks**: It will be SasuIno, and there will be a GaaIno bridge in a separate fic for those who can't decide. ::laughs:: and as I was saying to LostsoulofRegret, you ficcie **Moonlight Shadow** were one of the two that inspired me to write a SasuIno ::bows down to you:: You have recruited another member into the fandom. Hahaha.

**Kosumi**: Don't worry, I like to take things at a slow rate ::learned her mistake from No Laws to Love:: I hope this ficcie won't be left undone ::crosses fingers:: it really depends on my schooling, if it comes to a worst, I would update slower—but I wouldn't leave a ficcie unfinished. I just hope it's not like my No Laws to Love, where I went on a year and a half hiatus. ::laughs:: Well thanks for reviewing!

**Sugarmonkey778**: It does seem SasuIno is winning. YAY! But I love Gaa-chan just as much, so it'll probably be both for awhile before the polls come in. :D

**MisSs005**: Hahaha another person sick of the SasuSaku community…I've never liked canon!pairings…I don't know why. :D Let's get more SasuIno fics out there so we can make a community!

**TragicMiko**: Sasuke does seem very appealing even with his snide comments, ne? Yes there will be some NaruIno attraction, but that will come in later—and it's just more for Gaara and Sasuke to realize their own attractions to the blonde.

**Everlite**: Thanks so much! I try to make it as short in description as possible—not rambling but to get the point across without sounding rushed. And Ino's just an awesome female lead, isn't she? Irrational, irate, and loud.

THANKS FOR REVIEWING!

::CLICKS::

**Ame no Megami**


	5. Pins And Needles

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto. Just the little plot bunnies. :D

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

**Part V: Pins And Needles  
**

* * *

**Never understood how she could,**

**Mean so little to so many.**

**Why does she mean everything to me?**

**Is it worth the pain, with no one to blame?**

**For all my insecurities**

**How did I ever let you go?**

* * *

Water dripped down the sides, oblivious to the mess it caused on the clean floor. She shivered as her feet touched the cold tiles of the lavish bathroom in the Hyuuga Complex. Wrapping the soft cotton towel around her thin form as the steam settled, she gazed at her forlorn expression in the mirror. 

Pastel blue eyes, slender oval face—pale as ever, and platinum blonde hair that cascaded down her back. She sighed as the fingers unconsciously tightened on the towel.

_What happened back there?_

"Why me?" She wondered out loud—hoping somewhere Shikamaru might hear her, "What do I know that everyone needs?"

Ino traced her finger along the decorative marble of the sink, "One day, you just came to me…and now…" She closed her eyes, the corners of her lips twisting into a pained smile, "You left without a trace. What am I supposed to do?"

She didn't expect an answer—she never expected any answer from him in the first place. It was in his nature to keep everything half-assed to her. What was done was done, and now she could only move forward and figure out the puzzle he left her with.

Drying her hair slightly with the towel, she pulled it up into a messy bun before she exited the bathroom cautiously—no one was in sight as she leisurely strolled down the huge hallway towards the staircase. As soon as she reached the top of the staircase, four pairs of eyes met her gaze—one extremely irritated on with an icepack—and her mask slipped back into place. Ino was a strong woman, she told herself that daily. She could make it on her own, before she had met _him_, she had been alone…and this was no different matter.

Striding down as quickly and gracefully as she could, Ino bowed to the other three before resuming her trademark hands-on-hips smirk at the glowering man.

Onyx eyes frowned at her, an icepack held gently at the bruise above his cheekbone. His frowned seemed to levitate as his eyes directed downwards from her smirking lips, and soon a quirk in his lips made her scowl as she followed his direction down.

"So this is what all that anger compensates for," The fact that his model face was defiled by her fist earlier, amusement danced in his deep voice, his eyes trailing back up to meet her glowing glare.

She balled up her hands again, the two men behind her tensed as if ready to hold her back if she was going to attack again, "Not another word, Uchiha. Not another word."

Before he could open his mouth, the blue haired woman stepped in, bowing slightly to her, "Y-Yamanaka-san, you must be exhausted. Uchiha-san c-confirmed with us that you'll be s-staying here tonight. W-Would you like to see your room?"

Blue eyes blinked at the woman before her before moving back to the seated man, "I'm staying here?"

"No, I'm going to send you back to your burnt apartment," He rolled his eyes, "Yes, you're staying here, whether you like it or not. I have to work to do." Sasuke stood up, removing the ice pack from his face as he smoothed his slacks.

Ino snorted in response, "I don't give a _damn_," The other woman flinched slightly from her choice of word against him, "About what you do or where you go." She brushed a stray strand of hair way, laying her other hand on her hips, "I was just wondering where Gaara-san is."

Sasuke stiffened slightly from her statement, "It doesn't matter to you. You'll be staying here for the rest of the time. Hyuuga-san, Inuzuka, Aburame." He bowed to them as he turned and strode towards the door, ignoring her presence.

The blonde woman huffed at his attitude. She wasn't asking him about _himself_. Why would she ever do that? Not like he'll even answer anything she directed at him. All she wanted to know if Gaara-san was doing okay and he got all defensive on her. His problem! Why the hell is she giving this so much thought?!

Before he got to the door, a hand waved up leisurely, "Try not to hit anyone else, Ya-_man_-aka-san."

"What the hell?!" She grabbed the ice pack he left on the seat and chucked it in his direction—bull's eye! The blonde woman grinned when the brown haired man with the red face paint snickered as the wet ice pack smacked against the Uchiha's black blazer, leaving an imprint as it pealed off and fell on the ground.

He whirled around, charcoal eyes narrowing at her, "_You _are a _bitch_."

Arms crossed, cerulean crashing with onyx, "You want to come closer and say that again?"

A glare and a slam answered her question.

Snickering came from behind her and she turned around quickly, "What?"

A lopsided grin, canine teeth glimmering as the brown haired man offered his hand, "Nice work you did on him. I'm Inuzuka Kiba."

* * *

**Questioning her good intention,**

**Jealousy's a bad invention. **

**When you push on glass, it's bound to break. **

**Even when she was defensive, **

**It just gave me more incentive.**

**The more you squeeze, the more it slips away.**

* * *

_I wonder what everyone's doing now…_

As much as she wanted to ask him before he left what the whole ordeal was like—she knew how unresponsive he was. That had been why she asked for Gaara. But he hadn't even given her a straight answer on that one.

A prickle went down her back as she remembered the morning's events; the blood of the dark haired man on her skin as she fought the urge to scream then. No matter how much she scrubbed, the feeling was still there—the warm liquid as it seeped through the shirt. The color made her fingers twitch as she shuddered, the image of Shikamaru's pale face and the crusted marron-blackish substance residing on his features.

_Gaara…_

The corners of her lips upturned at the name of the exotic redhead, his lively sea-blue eyes were the only banks of emotions from the man. The one that had been with her almost every step of her recovery; taking in all her violent tendencies thrown at him without a single drop of retaliation like another known person. He had protected and watched over her…

Both Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke—had put their lives on the line for her…

And because of her…they were all in danger. Was this…fair?

"Would y-you like s-some tea?"

"Huh?" Blonde hair whipped around from restlessly tapping at the windowpane, "Uh, sure. Thanks."

The other woman seated herself across from Ino, carefully pouring the tea as she placed one in front of the blonde and herself.

Pale eyes blinked nervously as the blonde scrutinized her behind the tea. Hinata didn't like small talk, but something compelled her to sit before the other woman, something concerning a raven haired man earlier that day.

Small fingers wrapped around the cup shook as she used the other hand to brush back the stray strands of navy blue hair. His sudden appearance and request made her rethink her previous grudge against the Uchiha heir. Did she really despise him that much? She had always managed an indifferent, gentle demeanor when dealing with him in public, yet her chest felt like she wanted to explode, scream, directing anything towards him. The blue haired woman knew; if she wanted to destroy all he was worth and could be; she would've done it already.

Yet, she didn't. Hinata hadn't even told her cousin and friends about _that _event.

Now…the way he communicated with the blonde before her, gave her doubts of her hatred towards him. He had seemed so…so human to the blonde. The way he yelled and threatened, joked and smirked…he treated her the way he did to Naruto-kun. In a teasingly—but caring way.

Even if it seemed like he actually meant his threats.

Her chest tightened at their interactions. He never acted that way around her. Together, he had always been gentlemanly, courteous and kind. The bond they shared was intimate, but thin—that something like the pink haired woman had easily threaded through.

He hadn't visited her…in three years. Yet the day he does, it was for someone else. There was always someone else.

Hinata's fingers tightened on the porcelain cup at the confused blonde before her.

What did she feel now? Was she jealous? Did she still hate him?

"I-I hope your s-stay here is as c-comfortable as i-it could be," Her lips quivered as she suppressed the boiling urge to ask about the raven haired man. Why did she want to know about _him_, of all people?

"Ah," Thin fingers brushed back the stray bangs, "Everything's fine. It's better being out of company of that stuck up asshole. What the hell is up his ass all the time?" Ino leaned back on the chair, relaxing slightly as the pale woman _finally_ spoke instead of just staring at her.

Hinata looked down at her cup, the steam disappearing into the air. The blonde didn't understand Uchiha Sasuke. Her long eyelashes brushed against her tinged cheeks. No one really did. Not even herself, but she knew better than most—regarding his attitudes.

"H-He's not that b-bad," Frowning at herself, she continued, "S-Sasuke likes t-to seclude h-himself e-emotionally and e-ends up s-seeming like a c-cold person. B-But…he r-really isn't."

Why was she defending him? She could've just ruined his image more…yet…Hinata couldn't sit and watch Ino catch only the wrong part of his personality and defile his reputation with her quick judgments.

"H-He only acts t-this way…because he c-cares. S-Sasuke never d-does anything he d-doesn't mean to…Y-You're in danger, t-that's why S-Sasuke is…"

Pink lips across from her curved up slightly, "I guess so." Ino stared at the nervous woman before her, the question she had been meaning to ask the men rolled off her tongue.

"Do you think I belong…in this…?" Blue eyes tried to avoid the shocked expression of the other woman, "I mean like…I'm always causing them trouble."

"S-Sasuke w-wouldn't do a-anything out of the un—"

"I don't want to know what he would or wouldn't do," She leaned forward towards the submissive woman, "I want to know what someone outside of this thinks of the situation."

Hinata faltered at the sudden question—true, it was better to get a bystander's point of view; most times it would be unbiased. But Hinata…

She had a history with the raven haired man, and somehow…Lavender eyes regarded the blonde…somehow Yamanaka Ino had figured out the small bridge between the two. It was as if Ino _wanted _her to answer in such a way. To reassure herself of her own assumptions.

"Y-You're the one t-they seem to be t-targeting…so…i-if…you g-go…" Somehow she couldn't take herself to finish it. It was none of her business to tell the blonde what to do, but they both knew it, she could tell. They both knew of Ino were to stay…the Hyuuga Manor could only provide temporary haven…once her father gets home…would be a different story.

"If I leave then that would take Uchiha and Gaara-san out of target range. I understand."

Hinata's eyes widened at the blonde's conclusion of what she had implied—she hadn't mean her to grasp it so quickly…but if Ino was to leave because of her…Sasuke.

"S-Sasuke…w-wouldn—" But she was cut off by the other woman.

The blonde flashed a sympathetic smile, "He's really important to you, huh? I'll try to be nicer to him then."

Ino stood up, bowing slightly to the heiress, "Thank you for letting me stay here for now. Goodnight, Hyuuga-san." Blonde hair swaying back and forth, the woman left Hinata stunned, in her seat.

_He's really important to me?_

She buried her head in her hands as the blonde was out of sight, shaking slightly.

Why was it that everything she said contained his name? Everything that came out of her mouth was all his point of view, none of hers. True, it was his business…but even her deduction of the situation concerned his welfare. Like…she still _cared _for him.

"I-I'm doing this b-because Hyuuga and U-Uchiha C-Corps are p-partners…t-that's why…"

It wasn't possible. Hinata hated him. She hated him for what he put her through. There was no way…Yet, her heart tuged painfully when she saw him stare at her.

_Why?_

* * *

**I never walked so far on a lonely street,**

**With no one there for me.**

**It took too long to see her in misery**

**And now it's clear to me.**

* * *

Dark tresses were brushed back, weary eyes gazing at the written report before them. 

"This is it?" Sasuke didn't understand _how _it became such a mess.

A red mess of hair nodded in response, a worn out expression eminent in the black rimmed eyes.

"That's all we got out of him. There could be a possibility that he was lying and the information was given to throw us off. Orochimaru does have enough money to hire mercenaries," Gaara tapped the manila folder.

Flicking his hair behind his shoulder, Neji crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall, "Should we go tell her?"

The four men blinked at each other before a grin crossed the blonds' face, "I will! I wanna visit Hinata-chan too!" Naruto perked as he bounced his way towards the door.

"Oi, dobe," A voice drawled out, "Don't you have class to attend?" Sasuke stood up and brushed his pants. Not knowing really _why _he wanted to be the bearer of bad news, but the facial expressions the blonde emits was enough to make his day. Now, getting to question her with a sound reason was more than enough for him to be compelled to visit the violent idiocy of the female counterpart of Uzumaki.

Faltering in his steps, Naruto frowned, "Stupid teme…Always ruining my fun." Hands on his hips he glared at the other three, "Well Ino-chan likes me _best_! So I think I should get to go."

Sasuke grunted at his friend's deduction from the various bruises the raven haired man has accumulated in one day from the blonde. No he _wasn't _jealous, just a little irked that she showed favoritism. How the hell did a person fall out of step and hate at first sight already? _He _was supposed to be the epitome of women's dreams.

Yamanaka Ino was going to regret treating him in such a manner.

"Though Gaara," Neji shoved his hands into his pockets as he watched the two seated men, "Spent the most time with Yamanaka-san, yet bores no inflictions. You would be our best bet of Yamanaka-san listening to what we tell her."

The Uchiha heir stopped in his track, holding back a '_What?' _from the other man's suggestion, but kept his outburst to himself. After all, _why _where they fighting over who gets to inform Yamanaka? He enjoyed riling the blonde—mainly because she resembled Uzumaki in so many ways—but he definitely did _not _want to be anywhere near the Manor. And if he argued now, Neji would assume otherwise.

But the fact that _Gaara _was chosen over him, greatly irked the Uchiha. Who was the leader? _He _had the money; _he _had the power to take down Orochimaru. Yet, the blonde ordeal was throwing him in second place to the Kaze ex-heir. And the more the blonde is exposed to the redhead, the more she favored Sabaku over him, and that didn't place well if _he _was the one would wanted to uncover his father's secret.

Sea-blue eyes cautiously swept over to the raven haired man after Neji had stated that _Gaara _would be the deliverer of bad news to the temperamental woman.

Sasuke scowled back once he noticed the other man's gaze, "Do what you want." He stood up, ready to take his leave before a cold, cutting voice broke his tantrum.

"Well, someone will have to call Yamanaka-san's previous job to question then," The redhead, still leaning on the table continued to tap his finger on the desk.

"I'll do it then," Sasuke snapped as he gathered up his belongings, "You go notify Yamanaka."

He stepped outside the room, slamming the door behind him as he stalked down the hallway.

* * *

**Accept this confession (_I'm walking on pins and needles_)**

**You're not my possession (_I'm walking on pins and needles_)**

**My conscience is vicious (_I'm walking on pins and needles_)**

**And I'm begging for forgiveness (_I'm walking on pins and needles_)**

* * *

Gasping for air, she shot up from the bed, blonde hair matted around her sweaty neck and face as she nervously touched her face and then glanced around the room. 

12 PM

Throwing herself back into the depths of the mass of pillows, Ino clutched at the comforter.

_What the hell was that about?_

Another nightmare that last through the morning—it seemed to never end…

As her breathing slowed down, she closed her eyes, the images of the pale, cold, lifeless faces of the three men in her life flashed by. The ghostly figure of the brown haired man lying on the forensics table; the sea-blue eyes of the redhead rolled upwards, leaving blank whites surrounded by black rims, accentuated by the faded maroon hair. But the image that stuck with her the most…was the realistic red-soaked body of the Uchiha, the blood seeping into his eyes, making them red black as the liquid dripped from his mouth, the chest exposed and mangled.

Her hand flew to her forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat that gathered.

The bloodied bodies of the two men that she had saw earlier the day before had their faces replaced with the two men that had protected her then.

A shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the meanings of her dreams. More than once did their deathly pale faces, covered in bruises and incisions flew by as soon as she closed her eyes.

The shooting…the blood from yesterday…it had all been real. As much as she denied it—and cleaned herself—she still felt the warm liquid on her skin. Ino could never wash away the feeling of blood on her body, and it haunted her as she thought about the two men that put their life on the line for her.

_Am I doing the right thing?_

Was she too pushy, too demanding—that they couldn't stop her, and because of her stubbornness, had thrown them all into a spiral of death?

"_Y-You're in danger, t-that's why S-Sasuke is…"_

…_throwing his life on the line for mine…_

"I'm a total selfish brat," She pressed her palm against her cold forehead, the sweat clamoring against her matted blonde hair.

"_U-Uchiha-san?"_

_Pale eyes blinked at the sight and immediately the raven haired man instilled manners he lacked against the blonde. With a straight face, adjusting his tie, he got out of the mustang, bowing to the blue haired woman. _

_His eyes swept over her form, and as Ino could notice, a slight but quick anxious glance at the lavender eyed woman's expression. _

"…_Hi—Hyuuga-san."_

_Sasuke had stumbled over his words—something he had never done the whole time he was around the blonde. Always so self-composed and outright blunt, yet, the presence of the Hyuuga woman changed him. _

She frowned and played with her thumbs; was she too self-absorbed? Bringing people who had lives of their own into her personal affairs? Indeed, they had been searching for the same thing, and she was somewhat of a fresh source—her presence only put them into more serious situations.

Pale fingers clenched at the flowery comforter. If she stayed…if she continued…there would be more deaths like the day before.

Long eyelashes touched her cheeks as she shivered. Who knows if she'd be as lucky as last time? They saved her two times in a row already—but barely by a hair. The numbness stuck to her—the same shock that took over when she had gotten the phone call about Shikamaru's death. The ghostly feeling never left her since then, and Ino knew, once it wore off, everything was going to break. Everything she had been shielding herself from would fall apart.

_I'm no more than a little girl that displaces her emotions by craving for attention_

She wasn't strong. Ino couldn't be the woman Shikamaru needed emotionally. If he had built her up for a fate such as this…then she had been the wrong person to chose. She couldn't go on without him like he thought she could. Even when he was away, she always vied for his attention—for his company, always awaiting the day he would return.

_But you're not coming back to me this time…_

It was her decision to make…

It was time she stopped being selfish and thought about others.

Gaara had his own life, a company to re-inherit and rein over.

Sasuke…Sasuke had his own affairs…people that cared for him.

And the only thing that kept her in Konoha was gone. Then…it was time for her…

To let go and be gone herself…

_Shikamaru…_

It was time for her to grow up, to fend for herself without bringing others into her shattered life. Shikamaru held the pieces together for her. And now, Ino needed to learn how to do that herself.

Even if that meant…to give up…

"Ino? Sabaku's here to see you," A muffled voice of Kiba from behind the wooden door broke her out of her trance.

Fingers tightened momentarily before loosening, "H-Hold on!"

She took a deep breath before sliding out of bed, blinking the worry etched on her face away, the boisterous blonde woman back into step over the resolution.

_Ergh…all this acting and changing moods…I think I'm going to go schizo or something. _

Ino couldn't let them see the reason why she was retiring from the search and she couldn't let them see the woman behind the mask either. Her world was crashing down…she was slowly falling apart…and yet, she had no reason to bring anyone else down with her. This had been her decision to make…she _will _drive them away. Have them leave her on their own free will…

_It's now or never. Better soon than too late…_

* * *

**That it's worth the pain, always take the blame**

**For all your own insecurities. **

**How did I ever let you go?**

* * *

**End Part V: Pins And Needles**

AI! I'm so sorry this one took so long to get out—and the fact that there's not much action, but yet again, I need to still get stuff set up. This story will progress slowly, and I don't plan on having Sasuke and Ino jump into bed together any time soon. :laughs:

But I've introduced the Hinata-drama, the Sasuke-Gaara hate, and the Ino-self doubt.

THANK YOU ALL FOR REVIEWING. 60 already?! WOW. I personally didn't think I would get that much for a crack pairing. :D But you guys are awesome!

**TragicMiko: **Hinata has her own story, and hopefully if I don't end up rushing this, she will progress along too. She's actually one of the easier characters to portray. And I hope she will develop to your liking:D

**T0xicmarker: **Haha, thanks. With all my ochem-kicking my ass-ness, I made it out all my classes with B's across the board and barely missed an A- in biology with an 89.6. Damn professor doesn't curve. XD

**LostsoulofRegret: **LOL. Doesn't it hurt to punch? I had a friend who punched a window and his hand was in a cast for like, months! XD Gaara makes his way slowly, because we all know he likes those grand entrances ;. Thanks for reviewing! And update yours too!!

**Tai-for-you: **XD Yeah, his whole expression just screams 'TAKE ME'. It's not just you, I bet the whole fan base would like Kishimoto to draw Sasuke half naked and sweaty from training too. Mmhm. I guess Hinata's in that hard spot in this story—but I dislike Sakura overall…so yeah. :D

**Hlomondodeli Majoribanks: **You know what they say, great minds think alike ; Shikamaru's ponytail was just asking for it. And now I'm wondering what Sasuke looks like when he gets out of the shower. I've seen fan-drawn of Shikamaru with his hair down and I'm wondering if Sasuke looks like that with his hair wet and down. Hm. I think I might use that. :D Wow. Now I'm just ranting. So what's happening to your Moonlight Shadow story? (I'm totally following Believing too) Well, I'm asking YOU to update!

**Ai-Kusabana: **It leans back and forth. But you know in dramas, it's always the guy the girl hates at first that she falls in love with and the other guy just becomes the best friend. :D Ino's in a confusing time right now…so she's just going to anyone who's sympathetic or relatively near to it.

**Infamous.it.girl: **Haha, I want a James Bond to myself too. :D I really don't know where that question came from, but it just hit me at like, 4am that morning. The Demon Brothers were those two guys that attacked Team 7 when they were escorting Tazuna to the Wave Country. They had about…say…two minutes of screen time? But hey, they had a name! OMG. I am totally waiting until February too! They better not lie! Like how they said after episode 201…what is it now? 213?! ARGH. I like Ino better than Sakura, because as they both fawn over Sasuke…I see Ino actually hitting him when she gets mad unlike Sakura, who would cry instead. XD Anyway, now I'm just rambling to you. Haha. School just started another quarter for me…so updates would be slower, but I'll try! I just got back from Tahoe too (Snowboarding is awesome). I miss it so much. Haha. Snow's gone for you already? Whaa?

**MisSs005: **No, I hate it when the girl depends too much on the guy. That's why I'm making Ino very much aware of her situation and how she wants to take it into her own hands and try to be independent. :D Thanks for reviewing!

**Sugarmonkey778: **Like I said, WE NEED A SASUINO FANBASE! (Someone should start it) Haha.

**S0fetch: **Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it. There's more sasuino fans than I thought there would be. This is awesome!

**Soulcollector: **:D if you see any mistakes though, feel free to point them out. I have no beta-reader and sometimes I finish this stuff at like 5am on a spur, so there's mistypes or double words. But thanks for reviewing! More SASUINO LOVE! And yes, love shows new sides of a person. Whoo.

**Everlite: **The pairing has been decided as SasuIno, unless there is a big fanbase for GaaIno—I would make an alternative ending to it just for that. If you're a super GaaIno fan, **Thunder sister** is somewhere around waving her GaaIno flag. :D :waves back:

**Thunder sister: **OMGOSH I hate it too. When like, me and this guy are totally good friends, but after awhile, he just looks at me like another 'guy'. So what does that mean? I get treated like one. / I mean, it's cool and all, but I don't get the special privileges (He doesn't dress up when we go out, I don't get doors opened, when we're watching tv with other guys—they do like…I forgot the word, but manners are totally forgotten. and I'm like hello? I'm still a female? Notice the boobs? I know I'm a barely B, but hey, don't fart and burp in the same room as me and then try to throw it at each other. Like, seriously. Hahaha. Men. Sheesh. Gaara will be featured more in the next chapter. :D So don't you worry.

**Goth-Punk88: **Whee! SasuIno-ness! Don't worry, it will:D and I love your SasuIno ficcies too!

**Aliice fools: **This isn't limited, but I go into depth for what I consider important. And if I don't shine light on one character at a moment, it would most likely come up at another moment to fill in. :D Hinata's shy personality has a limit, but making her a total wallflower isn't really what I like. She seems more like the passive type that would snap any moment. XD

**Kittinz: **She's actually pretty easy since her personality can really go either way. :D Thanks for the review! I'm glad you like it!

**Cabalistic: **YES for crack!fics. We need more of this stuff around. But it's really hard when a lot of the good plots are already taken (whether it be nicely or badly done), so coming up with something original was actually really hard.

**Tomboy-girl21: **GaaIno is more rare than SasuIno, but a SasuInoGaa is even more rare ; Whoo. I just love those two bishies. I'm a fan of crack!pairings, so if you have good recommendations, feel free to tell me:D I need stuff to read too when I'm being lazy about updating. :laughs:

THANKYOU EVERYONE WHO READ THIS! MUCH LOOVERRS!

Comments&Criticisms//Read&Review

**Ame no Megami**


	6. How To Save A Life

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With A Bullet: **

**Part VI: How To Save A Life**

* * *

**Step one; you say we need to talk**

**He walks; you say sit down, it's just a talk**

**He smiles politely back at you**

**You stare politely right on through**

**Some sort of window to your right**

* * *

"Yamanaka-san," Sea-blue eyes pierced through the fidgeting woman, "I hope your stay was suitable."

She nodded numbly, answering stupidly, "Ah...Yeah, it was nice."

Fingers twitching nervously, her sky blue eyes flickered to his face and then away—and repeated the pattern—as she started the conversation.

"Gaara-san?"

Her eyes were hesitant, but she finally made contact with his orbs, "I was wondering if you had gotten everything you needed to know from me?"

His lips quirked at her question before pulling together a well-constructed sentence—avoiding the real answer of '_no_'.

"We've attained everything we needed so far; however, some uneventful things had also arisen."

Ino assumed it had been the restaurant incident as she took a deep breath, commencing her plan.

"Can I have a request?"

He grunted in reply, telling her to continue as he examined her anxious exterior. She _had _been Shikamaru's fiancée, and who knows how conniving and manipulating a woman of her caliber could be. Given that she can stand face to face with Uchiha Sasuke _and _still win the argument.

"I want to go home—back to my hometown and parents."

The redhead leaned forward onto the table as he crossed his arms, "There will be no protection for you that far from us."

Her fingers gripped onto the hem of the shirt, "There will be no need. Hanazawa is far and obscure to popular media."

"And you think they won't target you when you're in a small suburb with your family?" Her request was an interesting one to him—to deny shelter, give up on what she had to return home.

"I-I could stay with a friend…Besides, my acclaimed death was on televised here. No one back home knows I'm 'dead'."

He tapped his fingers on the tabletop as he regarded the slowly hyperventilation blonde. Her twitching was throwing off her ability to talk to him straight—her voice diminishing as she tried to back up her request.

At first he had thought the previous day's experience threw her into a different direction—she would either cling to them or ask to be moved out of the country, and not far enough to be deemed safe by his standards. And for some reason, he knew that she knew that too.

"Didn't you say you wanted to avenge Shikamaru's death?"

Gaara watched her mouth turn into an 'O' before she snapped back into pose and answered him.

"I-I…I have decided that there are some things in life that…you just need to let go of. I want to let go and move on. Konoha is the last place I want to be during this ordeal."

"Learning to move on here would make you stronger, going back home would be avoidance of your situation. You don't want to move on, you want to escape."

Her eyes looked away from him and Gaara knew then, he had hit the target.

"Don't talk to me like you know me," Ino's tone was low as she whispered the words out.

"No matter where you go, you will still hold the burden."

He could see her eyes flickering around the room, trying to find something to settle on instead of him.

"However, it is not my decision to make," He reached for his cell phone in his jacket, "You'll have to pick this up with Uchiha."

Placing the cell on the table—pre-searched for Uchiha Sasuke—the redhead stood up, leaving the blonde alone staring at the piece of electronic.

* * *

**As he goes left and you stay right**

**Between the lines of fear and blame**

**And you begin to wonder why you came**

* * *

Flopping down into the chair unceremoniously, Sasuke pulled the white purse out of the box, dumping its contents onto the table before him. Obviously, Ino's former employer was an ignorant pig—no information out of _that _one.

Feeling a bit out of curiosity, more or less about the assertive woman's personality—and maybe get on her good side, the raven haired man tried the worst possible thing on his list—going through her belongings that were scavenged.

Picking up the small device, he opened the flip phone, only to find the battery dead.

_Fucking shit_

Reaching next for her wallet, something in the back of his head snickered.

_Getting on her good side by snooping in her stuff? Good try, Uchiha. _

Rolling his eyes, he dismissed the possibility of the blonde ever finding out he went through her purse. Besides, he had a totally reasonable excuse for snooping.

Snooping?

Uchiha Sasuke was _not _being nosy. It was strictly business.

He was information gathering.

_That's it_

It was only formal investigating of the victim for all signs of a suspect.

Unbuckling the purple leather wallet, he was greeted with her identification, the corners of his lips lifting in amusement.

_What a mug shot_

The blonde was attractive, even with the imminent frown on her face.

_Eh?_

Did he just call her _attractive_?

Snorting, he rummaged through the credit cards instead. Attractive. She was as attractive as a pig in a farm.

_Kami, the woman owns a shitload of credit cards_.

Smirking again, he wondered how Shikamaru dealt with an avid shopper—which Sasuke deducted from the blonde. A wallet sized picture of the brown haired man and the blonde was behind all the cards, smiling happily, her arms were draped over his shoulder. Her hair had been short then, clipped back by two pins as she donned an orange tank.

Leaning back in the chair, he realized, the picture was the first time he had seem her smile—not smirk, but a full grin, her eyes slightly squinted as she flashed a peace sign.

She was high maintenance, alright, unlike Hinata.

The smirk faded from his lips as the image of the blue haired woman came up. It had been awhile since he'd seen Hinata smile honestly too.

Though when she did, there was a sweet, delicate giggle following the action, her motions fluid like calm water. Never…never as exuberant as the blonde's outright shameless grin which reminded him incredibly of his blond best friend.

Shaking his head slightly, that was only a disadvantage to him—knowing his own weakness towards his best friend's pleadings—and if that demonic woman was to find _that _out, he'd be a dead man.

There was a stack of pictures behind her ID and he started through them, his stomach clenching slightly at the cheerful, lively blonde grinning back foxily—arm either draped over or fingers intertwined with an irritated, but smiling Shikamaru—where was that smile now?

Shikamaru was a genius to make someone as the sarcastic and violent as Ino actually look _feminine_.

Those years he spent with Hinata…never had she looked at him with such a smile.

His calloused finger trailed down the face of the blonde.

Had their relationship been nothing but a business commitment? A tie between two great divisions?

Their meetings were somewhat intimate. He had gave it his all…didn't he? Yet…when they broke up, when she blatantly ignored him and he made no extra effort to reclaim it. Had it really been just a business deal?

Her face was always impassive, minus the constant blush—then again, she colored around almost _everyone_, so that didn't count much.

Flipping at a faster pace through the countless pictures of Ino with Shikamaru or her girl friends, one near the end caught his eye as he stopped.

The bright red hair stood out as he regarded the expressionless face of the caramel-eyed man next to the blonde—though she looked younger by years. Maybe when she was still in high school, at least.

He resembled vaguely Gaara…Maybe a relative?

Sasuke's stomach twisted again as he thought about how the redhead was always favored over him. Was this the reason?

But something nagged in the back of his head. There was some familiarity in the unknown man. The raven haired man couldn't place it…but it seemed like he had seen the caramel-eyed man somewhere before. He had no reasoning behind demanding the identity of the redhead in the picture—yet he stood up, shoving everything else back into the purse and lidded the box as the clamped the photo in his own wallet, striding out.

* * *

**Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend, **

**Somewhere along in the bitterness**

**And I would have stayed up with you all night**

**Had I known how to save a life**

* * *

"I-Is everything alright?" The pale woman eyed the brooding redhead in the living room area. Yamanaka Ino was in the other room, on the phone with _Sasuke_. The Kaze ex-heir had said nothing to her the entire time—she didn't even know of Ino requested to talk to Sasuke instead—and the silence was prickling at her nerves.

The way his eyes would wander aimlessly around the lavish room, roaming everywhere except to her. She took his silence for a 'Yes' and continued the strained one-sided conversation.

"H-How is Sasuke a-and the others doing?"

His name slipped out of her mouth again, and she reprimanded herself for the mistake. She was not to regard him with any friendliness again. They have nothing left except mere formalities…yet the name slips out, unconsciously, it grace her lips as she feels herself wanting to call him that instead of 'Uchiha-san'.

Ever since the conversation with Ino…she had doubted her feelings towards the raven haired man. If she didn't care for him…why was she still asking such questions?

The sea-blue eyes that had been wandering around the room landed on her and she suppressed a gasp of surprise as he spoke.

"Don't get yourself involved with Uchiha."

The simple command stunned her in her seat as he stood up and left—probably back to the blonde—leaving the Hyuuga heiress speechless and shocked.

What was he talking about?

She had no thought of _ever _involving herself with the Uchiha heir again. Right?

Her resolve was dwindling as she felt the pressure surround her. Hinata had let him come back into her home—and helped him shelter someone…she had defended him…and now…she was asking about his wellbeing.

The tiny hands that gripped the teacup finally let go as the china tumbled on the carpet—her pale fingers curled up.

She had no intention of falling back into the arms of Uchiha Sasuke. Would people stop telling her what to do already?

Hinata did _not _love Uchiha Sasuke.

She did _not _find happiness with him.

And she did _not _want him to find happiness.

Pale eyes widened at the final thought. Was that the reason? Was that the reason she suddenly felt threatened?

Would the entrance of Yamanaka Ino into the puzzle finally secure the raven haired man's long-sought for ending?

Her fists shook as the reason dawned on her—plump lips forming an 'O' as she was stunned of her own underlying feelings.

If she couldn't find ease and happiness from his rash actions…she didn't want _him _to ever find that solace either.

* * *

**Let him know that you know best**

'**Cause after all, you do know best**

**Try to slip past his defense**

**Without granting innocence**

**Lay down a list of what is wrong**

**The things you've told all along**

**And pray to God he hears you**

* * *

He returned to only find her thumbing the device back and forth, her head lifting to meet his gaze. She shook her head slightly as she picked up the phone and handing it to him.

"I couldn't get a hold of him."

"Ah."

The uncomfortable silence engulfed them again as she directed her gaze on the floor. Her eyes twitched around the tiles sporadically as she opened her mouth a few times—to say something, but decided against it. Latching her ankles around the bars on the chair, she lowered her body towards her knees, in a sitting fetal position.

Gaara felt the corners of his lips lift upwards; she was too easy to read. Stepping forward, he leaned in slightly; resting his hand on her shoulder.

"You don't have to worry about us," His guess was correct when her head snapped up, blue eyes wide as she stared at the redhead, "We do what we want. If we decided to look after you, then it's not your choice to pick yes or no."

Her mouth opened and closed a few times as she gaped, "B-But…I'm just always in the way…"

He chuckled slightly at her weak argument, "Has Uchiha's retorts really turned you around?"

"What?! No!"

Squeezing her shoulder, he nodded at her, "Good. Because I don't think he would've taken your previous request lightly."

Ino's face twisted into something unreadable as she thought, "But…you said that I was no use to…"

"Is it wrong to do something out of my own free will?"

"Eh?" Her face lifted in time to see the small smile fade from his face after he said that. The blonde's on façade deepened in shade as she dwelled on the thought. She opened her mouth again, to actually say something intelligent this time—but a new addition cut her off.

"Yo Gaara," Kiba popped his head in signaling at the redhead, who nodded in response.

As Gaara started away from Ino, she lashed out—throwing herself off the chair, "W-Wait!"

He turned around questioningly, in time to see her slipper get caught in the bar under the chair as she skidded forward. His arms stretched out impulsively to catch the wavering blonde, her own arms entwining with his as her fingers latched onto his shirt.

Gaara had meant to steady her uneasy trip, but instead, as she as she made contact with his shirt; she launched herself straight at his chest, the two slender arms encircling his waist.

"Thanks."

The redhead blinked at the quivering blonde still attached to his midsection, not knowing whether to pry her off or let her be, but as she turned her teary blue eyes at him, sniffling—damn, he hated those same blue eyes Naruto would give—he felt the walls crumble. Reaching up tentatively, he patted her on the head.

_This is the least I can do for you, Shikamaru._

* * *

**As he begins to raise his voice**

**You lower yours and grant him one last choice**

**Drive until you lose the road**

**Or break with the ones you've followed**

* * *

_Hmph_

Corners tilted down, as narrowed eyes regarded the scene before them.

_It's just Sabaku and Yamanaka…_

The man shook his head, oppressing the boiling feeling in his stomach as he pushed the brown haired man away from the door, slamming it open.

_They're supposed to be doing work…not…not…_

He felt an irate blood coarse through his veins at the blonde, who was gripping the redhead's waist tightly.

_Isn't she supposed to be depressed? Not clinging onto other guys? So much for mourning for Shikamaru. _

Sasuke 'hmphed' as he watched the scene, irritated by his late best friend's fiancée in another man's arms. Where was the honor in Shikamaru's death if she was already _whoring _herself away?

The more sensible part of him tried to chide away the thought as it brought up when she had cried in _his _arms also. That had been perfectly acceptable to Uchiha Sasuke. But Yamanaka Ino was _not _crying in Sabaku's arms, she was _smiling_.

A sincere, sad smile at the redhead.

The impact of the door to the wall snapped the redhead back to the entrance as the blonde yelped, jumping slightly as she clutched onto the Kaze ex-heir tighter—much to Sasuke's discretion, per say.

"Gaara, Yamanaka," He had already decided to drop the honorism in her name.

The redhead gave him a curt nod in reply, but the blonde had let go of his waist by then, her hands on her hips as she resumed her usual expression towards the raven haired man.

"Kami, can't you enter a room like a normal person?"

Thin eyebrows raised at her attitude, his former anger dismissed as he blinked at the bedraggled blonde, "Kami, can't you ever tame that monster?" He waved his hand snobbishly in the direction of her disheveled bed head.

Her hands unconsciously flew up to her head, trying to smooth out the tangles as she glared at him.

Sasuke felt a tiny spark of triumph as Ino vainly tried to straighten out her hair, muttering curses at him, totally forgotten about the redhead beside her.

Now it was time to get to business.

"Yamanaka," He reached for his wallet as she snarled a '_What_?_'_ at him.

Pulling out the photo, he held it up to the other two, watching the blonde's eyes widened and the redhead's narrow.

"Who is this?"

Her mouth twisted into a scowl as she leaped forward, arm outstretched to grab the picture.

"Where the hell did you get that?"

Using his height as an advantage, he lifted his arm over his head as she stood, forehead to his chin.

"Who is it?"

"Why is it any of your concern?"

"I want to know."

She growled, "Where did you get this?! Did you…" Ino gasped.

_The nerve of him!_

"You went through my _purse_!" Her voice raised an octave as she screeched.

"I needed more information," The photo was still waving over his head as she tried fruitlessly to grab it.

"You _pervert_!"

Sasuke doubled back on her accusation, surely she meant _another _noun. Uchiha Sasuke was _not _a pervert.

"I was information gathering!"

Her mouth opened as she paused in action, "You're in _denial_ now!"

"I am _not _a pervert."

"You looked through my stuff," Her hands back on her hips, "Who ever said you could? What if I had some private things in there?"

"Well I'm sure those private things are pictures of _other men_ in your wallet!"

"What?!" Ino grabbed onto his tie, pulling his face closer to hers, but instead of a usual punch, a coy smile appeared on her face, "Are you just jealous I don't have a photo of _you _in there?"

It was his turn to scowl at the thought, opening his mouth with another witty remark, only to be cut off by one of the two forgotten men in the room.

"Akasuna Sasori," Gaara gazed at the picture before moving his direction back to the blonde who paused, letting go of Sasuke.

"Do you know him?" Blue eyes blinked at the redhead.

Gaara, by then had overlooked her, staring straight at Sasuke, receiving a questioning snort from the Uchiha.

"He was from Sunagakure too," He pocketed his hands, sea-blue eyes never wavering from the raven haired man, "And wasn't he one of your brother's friends?"

"_N-Nani_?" For once, they were both in unison as the photo fluttered to the floor.

* * *

**He will admit to everything**

**Or he'll say he's just not the same**

**And you'll being to wonder why you came**

* * *

**End Part VI: How To Save A Life**

Song: How To Save A Life—The Fray

Uhm yeah. XD I rewrote this one so many times, and it ended up _far _from what I had originally planned. In this story, I'm going to make Itachi and Sasori (Deidara…etc) not that much older than Ino and them. Probably about 3-4 years older only.

And Hinata's character development? That was a total spur of the moment. Though I wonder if anyone had ever tried writing an antagonist Hinata in a story? This actually might be fun. (laughs)

As far as I can see…the SasuIno and GaaIno fandom for this fic is basically at a standstill. Wow, you guys are like…o0…I don't know which way to go! I might really end up finalizing this as ARC I and then start ARC II in two parts…one for Sasuke and one for Gaara.

**Ningyo hime: **:D Don't worry, I have no intention in quitting this now that it's gained so much momentum for some odd reason. 0o I thought crack pairings like this would never get this popular. Hahaha. I might update slower sometimes because college exams always end up in the same weeks (and it's coming up for winter quarter already! Oh noes!) So if I don't update for like a month, don't hunt me down yet! XDD if you've read my other Gaa/Hina "No Laws to Love" I did a year and a half—almost two years hiatus randomly because college applications and stuff. But I don't think I need to pull that for this ficcie. As long as I don't hit any writer's block. I think I rewrote this chapter like, four times. Well, thanks for the review! It doesn't need to be constructive criticism, as long as I get reviews to know that people are actually _reading _this fic. Otherwise, I wouldn't spend my time writing it. Haha. It's just basically feedback for me to know if it's worth it. :D So, THANKS!

**Heroeslover: **:D Do I get candy?! Hahaha. If you're into stupid vids, go on youtube and search 'Charlie the Unicorn and Candy Mountain'. Randomness rules.

**Kittinz: **Hahhah, I see you're a GaaIno supporter:D I love Ino with almost anyone…and I hate Sakura too! Bwahahah! Well, thanks for reviewing!

**Ai-Kusabana: **And it just keeps on getting cuter between her and Gaara…though I think Sasuke's manly act is cute too. Teehee. Thanks for the review!

**Tai-for-you: **Hahaha, I remember back in the days where I had to scavenge for a decent fic of SasuHina. It really depends on how it's written. But yes, no trade backs Hinata! As for Gaara's eye-color? I see representations of it being blue…then I see green…and then its like a mix…so I just decided, SEA-BLUE! Haha, fixes all problems!

**-Death-Tainted-Rose: **It's not because most fans dislike Ino…she's just an undermined character and most people tend to like canon pairings better. (shakes head) Ah, no creativity whatsoever! Haha jk jk. I'm just trying not to do something that's been overdone because in those million canon pairing stories, a selected few are _great_.

**Infamous.it.girl: **You know what? I love essay-reviewers. I've just decided that. It just shows more attention to my work and yes, I'm an attention-whore (runs around) Haha, jk jk. I realized after you asked that I never put down the artist to the song XD My bad. Billy Talent, I think he's a UK artist or something, but he was at last year's Warped Tour. Kiba and Naruto will just be minor add-ins here and there when Ino's by herself and contemplating. There might be some chemistry, but that's very slim. I actually make KibaxHinata. But that depends on how much I bring Kiba into the story. I keep on throwing characters in. XD Ino and Sasuke will start out, more or less…a love-hate relationship, the 'love' part is when they're teasing each other. And like I said earlier, they're not going to jump into bed anytime soon, but rather beat the shit outta each other when they're confused about their feelings. XD NARUTO HAS BEEN DELAYED. I got the note from the DB site and I was like WHAAAAAT?! So, it _better _be good, and they better not lie like they did in august and say near end of sept…and now feb. I AM DYING. WHERE IS GAARA?! Hahaha. (and Sasuke too). Snowboarding is one of the…two sports I can do…the other 'sport' would be eating. Hahaha. Sometimes I praise my metabolism for keeping me this thin…when all I eat is fast food. Gawd, college does bad things to you. HAPPY NEW YEAR TOO!

**Hlomondodeli Majoribanks: **Every time I type your user name, I recheck it like, ten times to make sure I spelled it right XD I am so bad with spelling. YES SASUINO til the END! **Believing **was such a cute fic…I love all your little stories. :DD And I'm still waiting for MLS. Yayuh! Thanks for reviewing!

**Aliice fools: **I don't like stories where the girls are totally dependent on the guys and I'm trying to make Ino a bit different. As for Hinata, I guess I'm experimenting with a new side of her now, huh? All the fics had her crying over a heartbreak, but what about _revenge_? Basically, this fic is the one where I try everything different. Hahah. Well, thanks for reading this!

**Sociallifeless: **Ah, I'm trying! XDD We'll just have to see how believable this is when it actually starts to unfold, ne? Thanks for reviewing!

**Kosumi: **XD Sorry about the Hinata-stutter…I was probably doing that part really late…and everything blurred together. I hate it when people make Hinata stutter that much too. Now I want to go back and fix it…but I'm too lazy. Hahaha. Well, here's Hinata's inner complex! Whoo! As for Sasuke, JEALOUSY IS WORKING, BABY! Hahaha. Well, thanks for the review!

**LostsoulofRegret: **Yes, I totally do follow your SasuInos too! And now that I've updated (waits for yours) Haha, that should be my reward! Well, hope you did (or will do) well on your exams! I know how much of a bitch they are and mine are coming up again in a week (crys).

**Cheese Maiden: **Sasuke and Gaara have to compete for something in every story. It's just not them to be buddy best friends. Hahah. But if someone can write a believable Sasuke Gaara friendship story, I give them props. :DD Well thanks for reviewing to my story! I'm glad this pairing actually gained some weight now. They're so overlooked because of Sakura. Psh. I don't see what's so great about her 'SAAAAAAAAASUKE-KUN' and crying over him every two minutes. LOL You're a GaaIno, huh? I haven't held the poll yet. It'll be in the near future then, so get ready!

**Senney: **IT'S A SECRET! Hahaha. Well, you can all vote for the pairing later. If it's a close call, then I'll make two versions, and it won't be an 'alternate' ending—it'll actually be two different stories about their relationships progressing, so don't worry.

**Sugarmonkey778: **Haha thanks. I hoped you like this chapter as well! I think this might be record time that I updated! (gasp)

**Thunder sister: **Ooh…well…I'm not exactly good at drawing T.T (looks at her stick figures) It's totally true about guys, they're you're best friends until you mention the B-word. Then they all disappear. And you know what else is bad? WOW. The moment my boyfriend started…our phone calls were like 'Yeah babe…Uhm…I'll call you back in a bit, k?' And I get a call back, _hours _later, at some random hour in the early morning when the sun don't shine yet. Hahaha. Well like I've said, I'll hold a poll, if it gets close enough, I would actually split this into two ways. One for Gaara and one for Sasuke. They will _not _be identical because each guy is different. But the story will then progress in that direction. But we'll just have to see the poll and how productive I'm being by then. Haha. I didn't mean to make Hinata stutter that much either. I read it after I posted and I was like 'Goddamn' but then I was too lazy to go and fix it. XD Please bear with it for just part five. As for your SasuInoNeji request, I've decided I kind of wanted to keep it in, more or less, a deviation from the Naruto World and not a total AU like this one. But if I can't, then we'll just have to see. Haha. I don't like writing stories without a viable plot...if its just romance, then i get bored easily and I don't put that much effort. Trying to figure one out now. XD What situation would you like them to be in? Hmm...other stories? I don't really plan ahead in anything--I'm actually just winging this story too. Making it up as I go, that's why the ending is left for any interpretation right now. I have that Itachi/Temari one...but I haven't figured out what I want to happen yet. I need the Naruto storyline to move on, dammit! (I don't read the manga...it takes too much work to read XD) Oh, someone also requested a HinataKankurou o0. Yeah, still brainstorming that one. And maybe a sequel to No Laws to Love, but I kinda like where it's ended right now. Well...THANKS for the review! I'm just rambling now. teehee.

**Soulcollector: **Haha, thankyou so much for your review! And I hope this lives up to your expectations!

**Tomboy-girl21: **Don't you just love them emo boys? It makes it all the funner when they're all angsty! Hahaha. I'm mean, but yeah, life is tough, boys are stupid and blah blah. So Sasuke is going to take a few smacks to the head, a few bullets and screams before he realizes it. And then it's a walk in the park. Yayuh! Well thanks for the review!

**THANK YOU EVERYONE ELSE WHO READ/SUPPORTED THIS!**

It just makes me update faster! (I use reviews to know if there's actually people out there who are reading this. Otherwise, I don't find it motivating to update soon enough. Haha)

HEART!

**Ame no Megami**


	7. I'll Be Careful, You'll Be Dead

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With a Bullet:**

* * *

**Part VII: I'll Be Careful, You'll Be Dead**

* * *

**And this will be**

**Relatively painless**

**With an impact like a train wreck**

**And you believe**

**There is no escape yet**

**You will find it through your headset**

* * *

Turning again, she wrinkled her nose and scowled at the shoulder beside her, jutting into her forehead.

"Can you please stop touching me?" An irritated male voice along with a shoulder push launched her back onto the other side, cheek leaning against the window.

Being too tired to reply to his harshness, Ino scoffed and wrapped the blazer around her tighter, orienting her head against the tinted window so that every bump on the road would not hurt as much.

"Why didn't you sit in the front instead?" She muttered bitterly, head turned away from the Uchiha heir.

The man beside her scowled, "If I could have it my way, we'll be in separate cars, miles away from each other."

She pulled the blazer up over her face as she snuggled deeper into the chair, "Well couldn't you have chosen something classier than a _van_?"

Ino didn't mean to complain, but having stuck sitting next to a person that was the equivalence of a rock for the past three hours was _not _pleasant.

Annoyed ebony eyes turned in her direction, "We're here on undercover _investigation_, not _vacation_, Yamanaka-san. I hope you know your place when we're there."

She scoffed in response, "I'll shut the fuck up, yadda yadda yadda; you're an asshole."

Why couldn't Gaara have sat back here? At least she could lean on _him_ without being reprimanded.

Ino turned again as she tried and pull one leg up onto the seat. My goodness she was uncomfortable. Her stomach was just _killing_ her too. Letting out a deep breath she tried to soothe the nauseating pain in her chest.

_Oh no…_

Groaning, she debated whether or not to ask the men…she had a _migraine_ and she wanted to get out of the car _soon_.

"What the hell is wrong with you this time?" The raven haired man beside her sighed at the agitated woman.

Ignoring him blatantly she leaned forward slightly towards the front passenger seat at the redhead.

"S-Sabaku-san?" Her voice was weak as the pain got worse.

Sea-blue eyes turned towards her, searching her pale face, "Are you alright?"

The stocky brown haired man, next to Gaara sniffed as he glanced at her face from the rearview mirror, "Hey, don't be getting carsick when I'm driving."

Blue eyes closed in defeat as she sank back into her seat, blonde hair fussing over the irritated Uchiha.

_Just my luck._

* * *

**Sorry this machine is speeding**

**So fast that I threw you off**

**Words you spread in privacy are killing me**

**I know I hurt you**

**But I'll hurt you more if I don't let you go**

* * *

"We're here," Gaara nodded at his brother as they pulled into the parking lot, "I'll get the rooms." Sliding out of his chair as he reached for a black hoodie, he eyed the two quiet passengers in the back. Nodding at the raven haired man, he took in his college student role as he left the van.

Kankurou exited the van and headed to the back and handed Sasuke a duffel bag before following his brother, leaving the raven haired man rooted in place. Sighing, he placed the fake rimmed glasses on, covering his signature hairstyle with a black and red cap.

During the last part of the trip, it had been awfully quiet, Sasuke thanked the heavens. But the downfall of that solace was the fact that the motion-sick woman had passed out...leaning onto him. And as if that had not been bad enough, a sharp left turn threw her onto his lap where she had continued to sleep, snuggling even further in.

His lips pursed as he stared at the sleeping woman. How the hell was he supposed to wake her up? He _enjoyed _the silence. If she wasn't pouting and crying, she was bitching.

Even Sakura wasn't that much of a handful. At least she listened to his every whim. And Hinata…Hinata was submissive in her own quiet manners.

And only when she was asleep, was the blonde like the other two; which only happened after she threw up twice from motion sickness, tiring her out from complaining the rest of the trip.

Extending his index finger, he prodded her shoulder, trying to keep the least contact possible—or at least the voluntary contact.

"Wake up." The blonde hair splayed over his lap, some strands caught on his jacket buttons as he unhooked it carefully. Her pale features were turned away from him as he regarded the tiny gems on her ear lobe.

As if on instinct, his fingers reached up and felt the soft skin as he ran his finger over the blue sapphire.

She shrugged away from his poking finger, "Nnn…"

Digging her face deeper into his lap, Sasuke felt the blood rush to his face. What the hell was she trying to do?!

In a desperate attempt to wake the blonde up—and to have her stop touching him, he turned her on her back, shaking her.

"WAKE U—"

A heavy metal object slid across his thigh as her sleepy face turned up at him. It was attached to a small ribbon around her neck—usually hidden by her blouse. The car ride and her odd sleeping position had it slip out from under her shirt, dangling in front of him. Reaching slowly towards the silver object, the warm metal resonated in his palm.

Feeling the curvature of the antique, Sasuke couldn't help but sense familiarity.

_Fuck…déjà vu again?_

It was the same sensation as when he saw the picture of Akasuna Sasori.

Sasuke had seen the piece of jewelry before. He had held the metal before. Yet, he couldn't place where or when—and _how _Yamanaka Ino had come into possession of something so electrifying to his being. The thin lavender ribbon holding it onto her neck blended nicely with her slightly peach colored skin, the unidentified emblem hypnotizing him.

"Uchiha."

Looking up quickly, he was greeted by an irritated expression from the redhead, dropping the item back onto Ino's chest.

"The rooms are ready," Gaara glanced at the figure still asleep on the other man's lap, "She's not awake yet."

Annoyed by the other man's scrutiny, Sasuke roughly shoved the blonde over as he slid out of the car, "I'm going up first." Holding out his right hand as Gaara placed the key in his palm, Sasuke rushed off as Ino stirred.

"Nnnr…"

"Yamanaka-san," The redhead approached the backseat, "We're here."

She only groaned in response. Her head hurt. A lot. There had been a lot of turbulence too. Goddamn Sabaku's older brother and his driving skills!

"We're already in Hanazawa…?" She gazed blearily at the pastel setting sky before landing on the redhead—which to say, was a sight.

Loose fitting denim, a brown collared shirt covered by a black jacket, hood pulled up and red hair covered by a black and silver cap, the redhead blinked back at her.

He actually _looked _like a normal civilian instead of a high-classed ex-heir.

Nodding at her, he made his way to the trunk, pulling out a small duffel bag and handing it to her.

"We're all under disguise," Gaara handed her the key, "I'll meet you in the lobby."

* * *

**My bags are packed**

**Train ride to a guilt trip**

**Recited, like words you memorized from movie scripts**

* * *

Gazing at the small town outside the window from across the room, the brunette sighed, her green eyes blinking.

"_Stay away from the windows as much as possible, and always keep the disguise in the bathroom."_

Pouting, she stared at the door that adjoined the two rooms. Her stomach rumbled slightly as she groaned and curled up on the bed. Sabaku had disappeared the moment he walked her to her room and set out rules. As for his brother and Uchiha…she hadn't seen them since she passed out in the car.

_I wonder what they're all doing…_

She never thought it life could take such a bizarre turn. Here she was, after two months of mourning after Shikamaru…in a hotel near her old _hometown_ with three men she barely spoke to.

After the fight with Sasuke over Sasori-senpai's picture, the raven haired man left her to her own doings for almost a full month with occasional visits from Sabaku, Naruto and Neji. Not that she minded the visitations—it was somewhat more appealing than talking to the strangely quiet, but seemingly calculating Hyuuga heiress.

Everything had been so fast paced.

Ino touched her forehead lightly. She had been so…so…numb.

How long had it been since she had cried?

The sadness had been covered by failure of the heart, an icing over…she was just _confused_ now. Following the men's actions only because that was all she had left to do. The only thing reminding her of Shikamaru she could cling to. And what to do after the deed was done? Continue with her life. She cried all she could, and now she could no longer succumb to the salty tears.

Rolling of the bed, she stumbled towards the one-sided door, pushing the second one open as she poked her head through.

The sound of the shower running diverted her attention towards the bathroom, scanning over the two empty queen sized beds. That means there's only one person in the room…

_I wonder who's showering…_

She couldn't help her thoughts trailing over towards the elusive redhead. Not that the prissy Uchiha wasn't a bad sight either. He was a little feminine though.

That made her snicker.

That lean face, defined collarbone and slim shoulders.

_Why am I thinking about that?! SHIKA. Think SHIKA!_

Her fiancé was _dead _and here she was trailing with thoughts of his acquaintances. What kind of depression was she setting into?

Sighing, she pouted.

"What am I to do?" Ino whispered as she continued eyeing the bathroom.

She was widowed before she could even get married! Twisting the engagement ring nervously on her finger, Ino bit her lip, deciding what to do next…besides from thinking about the two missing men.

"What do you want?"

The low voice made her jump slightly, squeaking as she twirled around to see the dark figure sitting at the corner coffee table.

Blinking a few times, she was able to make out the firm and calloused figure of Uchiha behind the loose unbuttoned dress shirt, blue undershirt and covered by a black and gray jacket. His usual hair was covered by a black cap, rimmed with red and his eyes were less accentuated by the coverage of the thick black rims on his glasses.

"Don't just walk in here," He lowered the magazine in his hands as he pursed his lips at her.

She was about to place her hands on her hips, replying to his outlandish remarks but her stomach answered for both of them with a loud grumble.

His finely arched eyebrow raised in surprise as a wry smirk appeared on his face.

"That was pretty disgusting," He placed the magazine on the table as he regarded her reddening face.

Ino's fists curled up as she stomped away from the bed.

_I don't have to take this!_

"Your face is pretty disgusting!"

Slamming the door behind her, she huffed and threw herself back onto her bed.

Now she was hungry _and _embarrassed.

Good thing she didn't decide to think out loud at that moment.

Rolling again, she decided that if Uchiha was going to stay the usual prick he was, she would have to go scavenge food for herself.

Reaching over to the purse Gaara had handed her earlier in the duffel bag—she had been quite amazed when she looked through it—she pulled out a…platinum debit card. One linking straight to a private account Sabaku had created for her.

Ino bounded towards the door with a newfound energy, peering out carefully down the hallway before stepping out.

_Food…_

Her stomach lurched again, the nauseating feeling now because of the lack of substance in her.

_I think they said there was a café on the top floor..._

Turning the corner, she headed straight towards the elevator, speeding up just in case Uchiha the ass decided to regulate her whereabouts. Maybe she'll just grab a sandwich or something and eat it back in the room. That wouldn't hurt.

Bouncing into the elevator, she extended her finger to press the 15th floor when a voice down the hall broke through.

"Eh, chotto matte!"

Quickly realizing that there were two other people rushing towards it, Ino kept the door open, politely nodding at the two newcomers.

"Arigatou, yeah?"

But it hadn't been the blond hair that made her nod numbly…it was the redhead that entered the small confined space behind him that made her heart stop.

* * *

**But the scene we cannot edit**

**And when the credits end**

**No one knows where the happy endings just might end up next**

* * *

"There's something going on."

He sat himself on the couch, taking the cap off as he ruffled his red hat hair.

The figured in the corner lowered his magazine as he gazed at the newcomer.

"Orochimaru's men are here," Gaara frowned, "His four most loyal accomplices."

The raven haired man squinted, "Did they see you?"

Red hair shook in the dark, "No, I saw from the staircase."

"Why would they be in Hanazawa? It's more or less a random shot to be," Sasuke cupped his chin with his hand as he leaned onto the coffee table.

Sea-blue eyes flashed in his direction, "Did you tell anyone where we went?"

The Uchiha heir frowned, "Naruto doesn't know, and besides I sent him to Koutei in Kirigakure and if anyone asked him, he was supposed to say I was with him for disclosed reasons. Only Neji knows, but his answer is that I'm with Naruto in Koutei. Yamanaka is still under precedence of the Hyuugas—Hinata knows her role."

Gaara slightly interestedly eyed at the Uchiha's distaste tone in the last sentence.

"Then perhaps they're here for another reason, if we didn't have an information leakage."

Sasuke sighed and leaned back on the chair, "What business does Orochimaru have in Hanazawa? The only reason _we're _even here is for a blind shot of finding Akasuna Sasori…to find the whereabouts of my _brother_. And that's still a stretch."

"We'll just have to keep on the quiet then. A better disguise would do too."

The raven haired man sighed in response, remembering something important, "Yamanaka came in here earlier. She seemed hungry."

Gaara raised an eyebrow at the statement, which seemed out of place, but decided to inquire anyway, "Where is she?"

Sasuke shrugged as he headed towards the bed unoccupied by Kankurou, "She stomped back to her room and stayed there."

The redhead stood up, heading towards the adjoining door and knocked twice, waiting for an answer.

Ebony orbs eyed the other man, "Maybe she went back to sleep?"

Gaara quietly twisted the doorknob, peeking through the dark room before turning back to the pale man eyeing him curiously.

"She's not in here."

At that moment, both men who usually have nothing but their cold exterior in common simultaneously uttered the same word.

"_Fuck_."

* * *

**Sorry this machine is speeding**

**So fast that I threw you off**

**Words you spread in privacy are killing me **

**I know I hurt you**

**But I'll hurt you more if I don't let you go**

* * *

"It seems we're being followed, yeah?"

"Ah."

"They're a lot quicker than we originally thought," The blond laughed, "Yeah, don't you think so? Finding us already!"

The redhead grunted in reply, "We should notify Itachi and Kisame."

The blond laughed again, "Knowing that prick, he probably figured it out the moment we stepped into this hotel, yeah?"

She held her breath, as she vigorously tried to avoid staring at the redhead.

_S-Sasori…senpai…_

The two men quieted down, signaling the next part of the conversation was not meant for a third pair of ears. Ino swore she was going to die holding her breath if the elevator went any slower.

_He looks…just the same…_

It was getting incredibly heated in the small space, her breathing becoming a bit more noticeable.

_Just as handsome…as when I was a kid…_

She could feel her face getting heated as the blond gave her quizzical glances. Ino didn't blame him, but at the same time, she hoped her wig wouldn't do anything crazy.

_I hope he doesn't recognize me…Though…_

The childhood crush never ceded, and now she was in close proximity with him again—the jitters hit her again. Bounded by the promise with the other two men…and with the sight of an old crush, all she could do was close her eyes and breathe as calmly as she could.

"Ne, are you alright?" The blond peered at her with one eye, "You're kind of red, yeah?"

_How am I going to get out of this?_

As much as she wanted Sasori-senpai to recognize her, to talk to her again…

She couldn't betray Gaara or Sasuke. Whatever was going on included Sasori-senpai…and that the two men's lives were also at stake.

_What to say…what to say?_

It wasn't exactly _hot _in the elevator…

And she was too young to be getting heat flashes…

So…all that was left was the…

…inspired by her favorite drama series…

"A-Ah…" Her head snapped over to the two men, a sudden shyness overcame as she stared at the nostalgic sight, "I-I…I'm just exhilarated I'm in the s-same elevator w-with such a b-breathtakingly hot…guy…"

The elevator pinged to a stop at the top floor for her, and as the door opened, she leaned over quickly, pecking the redhead on the cheek before she ran out.

_Oh my Kami, Ino, I can't believe you just did that!_

The two men stood as the elevator door closed, struck silent by the brunette that had rushed out.

The blond blinked a few times at the redhead, flabbergasted, "She was pretty cute, yeah?! How come _I _didn't get a kiss, yeah?"

An eminent frown formed on the redhead's face, "Deidara, we were supposed to go _down_, not up."

* * *

**Every little thing's amounted to nothing**

**But here I am**

* * *

**End Part VII: I'll Be Careful, You'll Be Dead**

* * *

Song: I'll Be Careful, You'll Be Dead – My Former Self

Ahh! I'm so sorry this took ages to get updated! No worries, I'm not abandoning this fic! Maybe a hiatus or two…but I'll get it done somehow! Haha. It's been a crazy…what? Five—six months? I was going through a pretty bad time. Broke up with my almost 3 years boyfriend, classes were getting harder…I really thought I wouldn't make it to Pharmacy school like I planned…but my grades are getting better. X Thank goodness.

Well, hopefully, I'll be updating a bit more regularly now…that it's summer.

Thank you so much to those reviewers out there!

How did you guys think of this chapter? I totally lost my train of thought after that 5-6 month hiatus…so I kind of started anew, though still on the same track.

Anyway, I would like to thank:

**Muu: **Haha, yeah, I'm _trying _to transition her without such abruptness. But it's hard. (sad face) Hinata's little scheming isn't going to come in until later…right now it's more on finding Itachi's whereabouts! Ahaha, thanks for the review and for being patient with me!

**Thundersister: **Extra plots would be nice! Though right now, nothing's really inspiring me to start a new one. Maybe you can help? I'm trying to make this one as good as possible. I look back at the old chapters and I do pick up a mistake here and there. I don't have a beta-reader, and I'm bad at proof-reading my own stuff. Haha. Thanks for waiting!

**Lima-chan: **I'm going to make Sasuke go through a rollercoaster of emotions ; starting with jealousy! Haha.

**Tai-for-you: **Sasori Competition for Sasuke! Bwahaha! I just had to add him. He's another redhead I love. Or at least I think he is a redhead. I haven't had to time to keep up with Naruto.

**Sugarmonkey778: **Yuup, I like how you think! Better five months late than never! Haha…this fic is lucky though. Last hiatus I took was around a year long for my "No Laws to Love" fic.

**Kyandii Yuu: **Haha, this one can be defined more like Hinata is in the way of Ino and Sasuke: Thanks!

**Verde Aries: **OMG. I hate SasuSaku with a passion too! (highfive) haha, I think irregular pairings are always more fun. : Thanks for reviewing!

**Infamous.It.Girl:** Dearest, you are the gasoline to my fire of love of rock/punk music. Haha I checked out The Darkness and I LOVE them: Props to you! I'm so sorry this chapter too way too long to update! School really got to me, but this is my break! I'm just starting on the new Naruto season now. Have you watched it? And tell me…is it any good? Hahaha.

**LostsoulofRegret: **Lol I was going to ask you about the snow…but I realized how late my reply is! I'm so sorry this took so long to update (I actually wrote it in two days…but it was the sitting down and concentrating that was hard). How's your summer weather?

**Senney: **Noope! I would never abandon this fic! I'm glad you love it so much! Makes me want to really continue this even if I do go on another hiatus! It's reviewers like you that I love! Thanks!

**Alice fools-: **Haha, Yeah, ffnet was going trippy for a little while…but I guess as long as I get my stuff up and you guys can read it, I'm alright! Thanks for reviewing!

**Goth-Punk88: **Please don't kill me! Hahaha…I'm sooo sorry this took like, ages: But yay, it's up now, more things are happening, and our dearest Ino is getting herself into trouble already!

**Ai-Kusabana: **Not much interaction in this one between the couples, but I'm setting up for next chapter:

Thank you everyone else that reviewed too:

Please R&R!

**Ame no Megami**


	8. Face Down

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto

**Number Five With a Bullet:**

* * *

**Part VIII: Face Down**

**Hey girl, you know you drive me crazy**

**One look puts the rhythm in my head**

**Still I'll never understand why you hang around**

**I see what's going down.**

* * *

_Oh Shit…Oh Shit…_

Her empty stomach lurched while her heart thumped loudly as she crouched in a corner, fumbling through the black purse for the cell phone Sabaku had given her.

_He's…He's HERE…_

She had given up and slumped on the ground away from the elevators—her legs shook as the door had closed, nervousness swallowing her being.

The blond guy had mentioned _Itachi_ too. _That _was Uchiha's older brother—and from what she heard, _that _was the person they were looking for! She couldn't let them go! She had to tell them. Luckily Sasori-senpai hadn't recognized her…what if he left because of her?!

The small silver flip phone tumbled onto the tiles as she scrambled to pick it up, the moment it decided to ring.

Flashing on the screen, the name of one person that made her heart stop.

"H-Hello…?"

"_Where are you?_"

His voice was sharp and quick, making her stutter.

"C-Café on the top…"

He paused slightly before continuing.

"_Did you talk to anyone?_"

"N-No," She lied, a little too quickly, but he didn't seem to notice the jump in her voice.

"_Don't talk to anyone. Get back here now._"

The phone clicked in silence as she sighed, getting back to the elevator area.

* * *

**Cover up with makeup in the mirror**

**Tell yourself it's never gonna happen again**

**You cry alone and then he swears he loves you.**

* * *

She rocked back and forth as she waited inside the elevator; the 4th floor was a pretty long way from 15th. The hunger clicked another chain reaction, giving her a horrible migraine. Rubbing her temples slightly, she was prepared for another headache…one consisting of her getting reprimanded by the two men.

Her heartbeat calmed, now that she was heading back to safety…or so she thinks. Gaara was relatively emotionless…she hadn't seen that guy blink an eye when she cried or beat him when she cried. To sum it all up…the redhead was still a mystery to her. But for some reason…as less as he talks…she enjoyed his company a lot more than the unruly raven haired man with a short temper. Not that she was extremely tolerant either.

She sighed. Shikamaru had sure chosen an interesting bunch to become friends with.

Or if they were even friends…for all she knew, they could all have ulterior motives.

Reaching up, she played with the chain around her neck unconsciously. Even if that had been true…Gaara _and _Sasuke sure put through a lot of effort to keep her safe. She couldn't think any badly of either of them. They always saved her when she stormed off angry…

Her lips pursed as she thought of all the times…at her apartment…at Uchiha corps…at the restaurant…

_Gaara…_

The redhead was always the one there to comfort her.

Though…

Everything that had been brought to her comfort itself…was from the irate Uchiha.

She was always being saved…always causing trouble. And what was new this time?

The light flashed the number 13, as it stopped.

_What an unlucky number…_

Ino always hated the number 13. It was so…plain and ugly.

Glancing up at the beeping of the elevator door opening, she was greeted with a brown haired man, his hair tied up in a fashion similar to how Shikamaru had. The only difference was the fact that his expression twisted into a sleazy grin upon spotting Ino in the corner of an elevator by herself.

Today was just not her day.

Ino quickly diverted her eyes away from him, tapping her foot as he pressed the "Lobby" button.

At least she'll be getting out before he did.

As soon as the door closed, his traveling gaze landed on her again as she shifted uncomfortably.

"Hiya, what's your name?"

She had been told not to talk to _anyone_. And she had broken enough rules for today.

Ugh. Even under disguise, she was still getting hit on. Goddamnit.

Sometimes being beautiful wasn't all that worth it.

She paused at that thought.

Well…

Ugh! Ino could slap herself now for wandering thoughts. She was in an elevator with a pervert! She did _not _have time to be conceited. Maybe if she kept her head down, he'd think she was deaf or something and leave her alone.

"Tryna stay silent, huh? I know by the look on your face, ya really ain't like that." He took a step closer as she tried to move further away, only to hit the metal wall.

_Why does everything bad happen in the elevator?!_

His arm reached over, placing itself on the wall to her right as she leaned against it, away from his hovering face.

"Wanna look up at me now?"

Taking in a deep breath, the blonde's eyes dodged around the space, his face coming in closer, she could feel his breathing on her.

9…

His other hand reached up, placing it on her shoulder letting his fingertips train down her naked arm. Goosebumps prickled her skin as she shuddered, trying to wrench away from him.

She hated being touched…mostly by strangers. It irritated her most how guys would just objectify her on first glance.

That was why…why Shikamaru…was so special. He didn't categorize her; he didn't give a shit about how she looked. He saw through what everyone else could not.

That was why…

She had no time …

8…

She let out a piercing scream, startling the man for a split second before his lips twisted into a sardonic smile.

"I knew ya had it in you."

Ino had no time to be playing games…or getting stuck in one.

She had dragged herself into this mess…and she was going to make it out in the end victorious.

_Shikamaru…_

7…

"GET AWAY FROM ME!"

With plenty of practice—and experience, she was able to overthrow even a man of his size, the side of the leather purse Gaara had given her landed with a sickening thud at the side of his head.

"Urgh, goddamn bitch!"

He reeled back…but Ino wasn't done yet.

If she couldn't beat an elevator molester…how was she supposed to beat the man who killed Shikamaru?

6…

The leather bag lifted in the air again, the man blindly waving his arms out as she had gotten a hold onto his ponytail.

It pounded repeatedly against his face as her grip tightened on his hair. She was not going to be the reason their mission was a failure. Not with everything they had done for her. No more people close to her getting hurt. And…she did not want to get hurt again.

_Gaara…_

With a strong push and a handful of sacrificed hair, Ino was sent to the other side of the elevator with a thud.

"Ya little bitch! Don't make me hurt you."

5…

Ino squinted as he picked her up by the collar, dragging her onto her feet and tilting her face up to his.

The coal-black eyes burned into her head as he snarled, "Ya just didn't know who ya picked a fight with!"

She struggled against his grip, but was only shoved against the wall with a slight gasp.

"Ya lucky I don't use weapons against women."

Her leg flew up, trying to aim for that one spot but his free hand grabbed it in time. He smirked, leaning in even closer as he pressed her against the wall.

4…

The elevator beeped and she bit him on the ear. Hard.

His left hand on her leg let go as he screamed, prying her off his ear. But with his reflex, his other hand tightened on her throat, slamming her again against the metal as she loosened her bit, coughing.

The door opened as both occupants silenced, glancing at the empty space before them.

"I-I'm gonna…beat…the living shit…outta you!"

A grin spread across the man's face as he pulled her out of the elevator by her neck, Ino coughing and struggling the whole way. Her vision was blurring with the lack of air as she scrambled against his grip. She gasped, trying to utter one word…one person…

_Uchiha…_

* * *

**Do you feel like a man **

**When you push her around?**

**Do you feel better now, as she falls to the ground?**

**Well I'll tell you my friend, one day this world's going to end**

**As your lies crumble down, a new life she has found.**

* * *

"I think ya luck's just ran out."

His free hand moved to the back of his pants as he pulled out a small handgun.

She closed her eyes and tried screaming, her hands trying to pry his grip off her neck, but ended up coughing and choking instead.

A soft pop was heard and Ino slumped to the ground, gasping. The silver handgun bounced onto the ground beside her.

The man before her grunted as he turned around, the hand that was originally around her neck was holding onto his other shoulder.

"What the fuck?!"

"I thought someone as highly trained as you would be less obtrusive," The gun still raised, "But I guess all of Orochimaru's men are idiots, even the elites."

"Who the fuck are you?!"

_Orochimaru's men…?_

Ino's eyes widened.

She had picked a fight with one of Orochimaru's mercenaries?!

Her fingers twitched as she shook.

_Omg … omg … oh my fucking gawd…_

And…once again…

She had…

"Are ya gonna fucking answer me?!"

"No," The gun fired again with another soft pop. He lunged at the mercenary, promptly knocking him out with the butt of the silencer after the two shoulder shots, "But I'm going to take you."

Pair of ebony eyes stared down at her as the other body slumped.

"Tch…trouble again."

She bit her lip as she felt her eyes water.

_No…Ino…no!_

But she couldn't help it. The reality of the situation hit her afterwards. She had been too engrossed in her own anger flare…she forgot…

She forgot…she was only a woman…unarmed…untrained…

She sniffed loudly again.

Ino could hear him sigh, a rush of wind beside her as she looked up to see an outstretched hand.

"We need to get out of public view."

* * *

**A pebble in the water makes a ripple effect**

**Every action in this world bears a consequence**

**If you wait around forever, you will surely drown**

**I see what's going down.**

* * *

He ran his hand through his hair sighing as he watched the redhead flip through the confiscated items of the unconscious…and still bleeding man tied up and gagged on the chair.

Trust only Ino to run away…get caught…and somehow bring back a prisoner for them. And not only that…

"_Sasori-senpai is here…" Her voice was barely above a whisper, "I heard them talking in the elevator when I went upstairs…Apparently…your brother's here also…"_

"Tch."

So his brother was here also…and so were Orochimaru's men. And if Ino had heard the conversation correctly…

Then they were looking for Itachi at the same time that Orochimaru's men are too.

Which puts it to the conclusion…

What _did _his brother do? Why does Orochimaru want with Itachi in the first place? Sasuke had taken control of the company after their father's death…

Ugh…he needed to speak to that woman again. Clarify his assumptions.

Where is that blonde anyway?

She had apologized mechanically to both of them after he brought her back and then went straight to her room.

_What a nutcase_

Shikamaru had always complained about everything being 'troublesome' if the raven haired man remembered correctly…now he knew why.

Having the blonde for a fiancée was enough for anyone to not want anything else on their plate. She was a walking disaster.

He strode towards the adjourning door, knowing well that the redhead's eyes flickered in his direction though not pausing from the investigation.

_Psh…_

It was like Sabaku _owned _the woman!

True, Yamanaka had the brains, the strength and the loud opinionated personality to boot. But any strong-headed man in their right man would cross that out. She was just a handful.

And it intrigued him…as much as Sasuke did not want to admit.

How far would she have to be pushed…before she snapped?

He raised his hand to knock.

It was a guilty pleasure alright, but…who could stop it? He was just wondering.

A strong woman like her…how hard would she fall?

There was no answer, and the Uchiha took it on his end to just enter, pushing the door forward as he stepped into the dark room, the moonlight flowing through the window the only thing illuminated the pale figure on the bed.

Her legs were pulled up against her chest as she rested her chin on her knees. Her wig was off, the blonde hair cascading down her back.

"I'm sorry."

It was soft, but the room was silent enough for him to hear across the space.

"I'm sorry I'm always causing trouble."

Her eyes flickered in his direction.

"If you want to yell at me for my stupidity, go ahead."

He scoffed.

"I'm not angry at your stupidity," He saw her blink at him confusedly. "I'm more astonished by the range of your stupidity."

Her lips pursed at his remark, but she stayed silent.

Which really did irk him; that it just wasn't her to be that quiet. The woman never shut up around him, yet she was letting him go every time he cracked at her now.

"You're a self-blamer, aren't you?"

She turned towards him again, "Huh?"

"You heard me," He knew she did too because she had looked away afterwards, "Anything that goes wrong when you're involved, you take it upon yourself and you berate yourself."

"Blaming yourself for everything that happened. No one knew that you would run into Sasori, that Orochimaru's men were here…that one of them decided to get on the same elevator. You're just strung out from all the different emotions that you've endured in such a short amount of time. It's a self-reciprocating process."

Her eyes lowered as he stepped forward, making his way towards her.

"You know, we all do that here and there. But…" He sat down beside her, "It's just _creepy_ when you're not bitching with your uncanny ability to complain."

Sasuke could feel the blue orbs burning into his face now.

_Goddamn…I've said too much…_

_And I didn't even get to re-interview her_

He could see by the moonlight, her eyes were watering.

Ugh. Crying women were _not _on his favorites list and he stood up as she sniffed.

"T-Thanks," She managed to choke out as he was halfway back to the door, "For trying to cheer me up, even if your natural talent to be an asshole made it sound lame. I guess that was inevitable."

Sasuke smirked.

At least he got something right.

* * *

**I see the way you go and say you're right again,**

**Say you're right again, heed my lecture.**

**Face down in the dirt she said,**

**This doesn't hurt, she said I finally had enough.**

* * *

"Ya think I give a fucking shit? I ain't gonna tell you any more! Whatcha gonna do about it?"

The man was awake and loud, Kankurou holding the gun against his head as he made the brown haired man lower his voice.

Ino glanced back and forth between the two frowning men and the man tied up across from them. With a whole hour wasted interrogating 'Kidoumaru', they had gotten nothing more than the fact that Orochimaru was looking for Itachi.

Which was more or less 'no fucking shit' since that's what they were _all _there for.

Sasuke beside her smirked, "So it took you guys that long to find my brother? You're pretty pathetic."

The grin on Kidoumaru's face never ceded with Sasuke's comment, instead it widened.

"Actually no, we're more on top of things than ya think. While you dumbasses sit around, we were already puttin' the plan into action after killin' ya father."

The smirk on Sasuke's face turned instantly into a frown and Ino clutched onto the blanket to brace herself in case he exploded.

"Now, now," Kidoumaru chuckled, continuing, "Don't gimme that hardass look. It wasn't even the elites that had to go after ya father. The brown haired kid was more of a challenge. Ya father had _him _under more protection."

Ino's eyes widened, her gaze stuck on the man across from them.

_B-Brown haired...kid?_

Kidoumaru noticed the horrified expression on the blonde and continued, his eyes never leaving her face.

"He was about ya age, I think. Blasted him full of holes in Sunagakure, myself. Shikamaru was his name, ya know him?"

He let out a wretched laugh as Ino's breath hitched in her throat before she started a faster pattern.

The two men beside her instantly stiffened at the information. Two pairs of eyes rested on the hyperventilating woman beside them.

Gaara raised his hand, resting it on her shoulder, "Yaman—"

She stood up, brushing his hand away as she staggered, dazed towards the imprisoned man against the wall.

"Y-You're the one…?"

Her mind was numb, nothing was running through as her eyes stayed fixed on the ever expanding grin of the brown haired man.

"Watched him bleed to death."

She could feel her breath quickening again. The man in front of her sure sounded damn proud for someone who was tied up. Her eyes were watery again, this time she didn't try to hold back the tears.

Her fingers twitched as she watched him laughed.

He had killed Shikamaru.

He shot him countless times. More than needed.

He had made her cry.

He turned her life upside down.

He almost got her killed.

He even _tried _to kill her.

Her fingers balled up and released as she tried to regulate her breathing, her knuckles cracking under the pressure as she released them one by one.

And now…all he could do was sit there and laugh at her expense? She could feel the salt on her lips when she licked the dryness away.

"R-Remember when I said…" Her left hand caught him off guard as she grabbed him by his throat, "I was going to beat the living shit out of you?"

With a sickening crack, her fist connected with his face, the other hand still clutching at his throat—her nails drawing blood. She then pulled him away from the wall with her nails in his skin, throwing him still connected to the chair onto the ground.

The three men around her stepped aside. They had gotten everything they could out of him. There was nothing left they could do. Kankurou was going to have to kill the guy and dispose of his body anyway. Though in a cleaner method. But now that they found out…behind Shikamaru's killer…there was nothing they could do to stop Ino.

It hadn't been what she said that made them step back; it was _how _she said it that made them all shiver.

"_I'm gonna fucking bleed you dry._"

* * *

**One day she will tell you that she has had enough**

**It's coming round again.**

**Face down in the dirt she said,**

**This doesn't hurt, she said I finally had enough.**

* * *

**End Part VIII: Face Down**

* * *

Song: Face Down – Red Jumpsuit Apparatus

Goodness! I finally got this up! Haha, it's so hard because I'll write one version and then decide I didn't like it that way. And then I ended up not included Sasuke or Gaara that much. (sadness!). I promise next chapter will cover more of our hot guys. Don't you worry!

I'm pretty sure I didn't even get close to Kidoumaru's character…but who cares. I'm way to lazy to re-watch those episodes (or find them) haha. So bear with his OC-ness.

I'd like to thank:

**Mitsukai: **Thanks so much for following this story and my mood swings on updating! Haha. I don't think sadly enough that this will be GaaIno. SasuIno looks like a better candidate. It does make it more intriguing when they hate each other, ne? I tend to like AU plots because I can be more versatile with them. Most of the ones kept in the ninja-ness already had the good plots taken by excellent authors. Haha. Gotta be original!

**Thunder sister: **LOL. (insert side romance!) Haha. Honestly, I'm only up to date with the anime. (sadness!) I'm way too lazy to dl the manga and then have to read it. Lol. I like interactive learning. Haha. So Sasori…I need a bit more on his personality before I include him more. Well now she figured out WHO killed Shikamaru! And she just went psycho! Haha. As for the wig, the sometimes have this net on the inside where they tuck their hair into. It's pretty darn itchy (I've worn one before for a performance).

**Verde Aries: **All I have to do is cut my hair and people are like HUH? Lol. And I love disguises! And I hate sasusaku! Lol. Soo overrated! Haha thanks for the review!

**LostsoulofRegret: **OMG. I just read your last chapter of Pretend to Be nice. Please update soon! (I know I haven't had to time to actually review on your story…but here's my review: SASUKE NEEDS TO GET HIS ACT TOGETHER! And what's wrong with Ino?! XD Sasori as an older brother seem so cuuute! (don't mind me when I kind of steal that idea of yours for mine when I write Sasori as in terms of senpai for Ino). Well, update soon! Kks? Dude, you can squat and bench that much?! I am soo bowing down to you. I am so weak. Haha my current boyfriend (new one!) can throw me over his shoulder like nothing and I can barely do the tricep curl with 10 lbs. I am such a looser! Haha. Summer weather here hot as fucking hell. It's 105 degrees and I'm sitting next to a fan. Haha. I hope I sweat off all this fat.

**Openwindow4: **Thanks! I hope this update was soon enough for you! How did you like it?

**Kittinz: **Haha, sometimes people gotta do embarrassing things to get themselves out of trouble! XD Thanks so much for your review!

**HeroineInducedPanic: **Muse is awesome! I hope I get to see them again in concert. Last year was just incredible! Haha What kind of music are you into? I try to include songs and artists that aren't that well known that I like at the moment in each chapter. I'd like some suggestions!

**Harrypocky: **I don't know actually…I kind of made that line up. Haha, but there's probably a Korean drama out there that runs along those lines. '200 pound beauty' is a really cute Korean movie if you want to watch. XD

**Aquafina rain: **Hahah, there will be a LOT more twists. Ino doesn't know how to use a gun yet…she'll get trained for that laterr. It's actually not as easy as movies make it. There's that recoil after the shot….she for now…we'll bear with Ino battering Kidoumaru with her fists. Haha. I know. I love men in suits too. Mostly Gaara and Sasuke. And Neji too. I'd love it so much if someone does a fanart of this. For my other story (No Laws to Love)…one of the reviewers pointed out that someone on deviantart made a picture of Gaara and Hinata and I was soo ecstatic about it. Hahah. Hinata will come in later in this story though…I feel like this is going to be one looong story! Thanks for the review!

**Asn water: **haha, no I didn't die off the face of the Earth. And many more things are going to happen to Ino!

**Sugarmonkey778: **lol…updates might be quicker this time…though I don't know…this is going to be onne mighty long story! XD thanks for the review!

**Tai-for-you: **OMG! (gives you my whole itunes library) haha I'm such a music junkie, and I love sharing it! Casino Royale was good too, huh? The beg was funny when that guy was jumping all over the place and Daniel Craig was just like running through everything. XD And yes, I have a redhead fetish too! Haha. Thanks for the review!

**Goth-Punk88: **Things are going just fine now. Well my ex that just happened…it should've happened a long time ago. I'm kind of seeing this other guy now, and he's great! Hahaha I'm not sure if it's a rebound thing or whatever, but I was kind of talking to him before I broke it off with the asshole. XD I'm sorry about what happened with you and your ex too. I hope it wasn't a horrible breakup like mine. But whatever, Sasuke and Gaara are all I need. Haha. Thanks for the review!

**Tomboy-girl21: **Sasuke is emotionally retarded over all even in the series! But yes, he'll be like "omg what is this feeling?! Am I sick?!" lolls. Jk. That's so corny. I'll make it work somehow. Though for now, Sasuke will be jealous! And trying to get Ino on his good side! Or so he tries. Haha. Thanks for the review!

**THANKS EVERYONE ELSE WHO READ THIS! X**

Please Read&Review! It helps me!

**Ame no Megami**


	9. Like A Drug

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

* * *

**Part IX: Like A Drug**

**This engagement is gasping for oxygen**

**And I don't think we'll make it out in alive**

**My intentions remain hidden for the meantime**

* * *

Shivering, she messily wiped the tears off her face, the blood on her hands smearing across her face and clothes as she sniffed. She struggled with the door, managing to open it, but no one was outside, so she leaned against it, closing it again.

_Shika…_

She wasn't _sad_…she wasn't _upset_…yet, the tears wouldn't stop pouring.

_Shikamaru's been dead…_

Ino had accepted that fact a long time ago.

But the meeting with his murderer…had spun her in a new direction. She had been angry; all thoughts of Shikamaru had disappeared at that moment. At the time she punched furiously at the man…

It had been for herself.

_If he hadn't killed Shika…I…I wouldn't be through this_

_I wouldn't have to do any of this_

She choked back a sob.

"I-I don't want to do this!"

The smell of blood was nauseating, and she wasn't sure if it was the man's or hers mixed with his. But the stench clung to her sinuses and she gagged.

Her teeth chattered as she staggered up, leaning against the wall heading towards the toilet.

_Hah…I'm just…not meant for this…_

Ino had never been one give up just because her body couldn't take it.

_But…Shika…I really…I really want to…_

She could barely uncurl her fingers from the fist it was crushed into as she gingerly gripped the sides of the toilet, her stomach lurching again.

_I can't live…I can't move on until…I've gotten your revenge…_

_There's no way I can continue to live normally...knowing that the man that killed you…the man that ordered for your death…is still out there…_

Half crawling to the bathtub, she started pulling her shirt over her head. Somehow, she had to get the smell off before she threw up her whole stomach. The acid burned in her throat, signifying there was nothing left…

Nothing left on the inside or outside.

Nothing left of her mentality. And the only way to get it back…was for her to get past this whirlpool of lies. Everything that concerned her…she knew nothing about. The water in the bathtub ran as she sat, shirtless, the jeans darkening in color as the level rose.

The thing that stood between her and life now…was death itself.

_Everything you've done for me…I want…to at least repay your name…even in your death…_

Shivering, she made no effort to turn it to hot. It woke her up. She needed this jumpstart.

_I want you to know…Shikamaru…from here on out, whatever I do…_

_Is not your fault, but on my own choice. It's my decision to go after Orochimaru…and conquer or failure…I just want you to know…I don't blame you. _

Closing her eyes, she leaned back.

_Maybe we'll meet each other soon. Maybe I'll continue to live. _

The hiccups started again as her body shook against the tiled wall.

_If you were here…you'd ask me why…_

_Why I ever did anything for you…_

_It's the same answer every time…_

_Because…_

She gripped her hair, the salty tears mixing with the metallic red color as she cried.

"B-Because…love is foolish."

* * *

**You're my broken record that I can't stop spinning**

**Pollution in the air that I won't stop breathing**

**I'm coming to terms with always failing**

**And nothing ever seems to be stopping me**

**You're just like a drug**

* * *

Dark eyes watched the redder ones, as the other man played lightly with the ice cubes in the glass.

"I'm pretty upset, you know that?"

His older brother eyed him with a hint of smugness in his eyes.

"That you were able to find me by accident."

"I never said that, did I?" Sasuke took a drink, wincing from the tangent taste.

"Still don't like tequila, do you? That's actually a close version of the tequila sunrise, using gin," The older man pointed out, smirking.

"Get back on topic," Sasuke muttered, pushing the drink aside.

"Mmm," Itachi waved for another cocktail, "I have my sources. But really, where's the stunning Yamanaka Ino? I thought she's with you?"

Sasuke raised an eyebrow at his brother's quirk, "How do you know her?"

"Nara's mentioned her a few times, and I've caught glimpses of pictures," A shrug and another sip.

The younger stirred the drink in his hand, rethinking his questions.

"Father always wanted you to take over the company."

Itachi smirked at the shorter man, "I declined. I have my own business."

"So you had nothing to do with his murder? And Nara's?"

His brother was silent at the direct question. Sasuke was not beating around the bush on this one. Sighing in defeat, he turned towards the younger man.

"Let's just say I knew it was inevitable. That's why I left. They can't get me. They can't get you if you're careful. But watch out for Yamanaka Ino."

The long haired man stood up, ready to leave, but Sasuke grabbed onto his arm.

"What role does Yamanaka play in this? I haven't even heard of her until a month ago," He eyed his brother warily. The man just couldn't talk without adding some uncertainty in everything.

Itachi pulled out of the grip, placing his hands in his pants, "It was between father, Nara and me."

Turning slightly towards the younger heir, he smirked, "But since I declined and the other two are dead. She's your property and problem now."

Sasuke twitched at his brother's vagueness, but when Itachi didn't want to talk anymore…there was no point in pushing the issue.

"Orochimaru wants to take over Uchiha Corps _and _Kyuubi Inc."

He followed the older man back towards the lounge area.

"I know."

"It's yours too."

Itachi stopped, raising mild interest from the younger.

"I've cut all ties with Uchiha Corps. Whatever happens now is up to you," He turned around, smirking at the frowning shorter man, "I just don't want such a beauty like Yamanaka to fall into the wrong hands."

* * *

**I can feel you inside my veins**

**Inviting every single thing I hate**

**Too much to handle, requesting one last taste**

**To send me on my way**

* * *

The other man was in the adjacent room on the phone when he had wandered over to check on Yamanaka.

"Hello?"

He couldn't help but sound slightly irritated. The talk with his brother did not help his mood one bit. Gaara was off helping the blonde woman or something and Kankurou was asleep—the prisoner was in the bathroom and Sasuke had a _massive _headache.

"_S-Sasuke-kun?_"

The raven haired man blinked, the sleepiness washed away.

"Hin—Hyuuga-san?"

There was a pause on the other side before she spoke again verifying who was she was. But he didn't have to know. He could tell her soft voice out of everyone else's.

"_H-Hai…Demo…Y-You don't have to speak so f-formally…_"

It was something he didn't hear everyday. Did…did this mean she forgave him?

_But why?_

There was something…unfulfilling about her sudden forgiveness on his part…but he couldn't help the increase in heartbeat. She was willing to speak to him…again.

"Ah. Is…Is something wrong?"

"_Iie!...It's just…I was just wondering when…you'll be back. That's a-all._"

It had been awhile since he heard her speak so softly to him. He didn't know exactly what to say, or feel. It was just too sudden.

"Sasuke!"

He could hear the other man faintly. Scowling, he had totally forgotten to answer her because of the redhead.

"Sorry, I missed that, what did you say?"

"_Iie, it wasn't really imp—_"

"SASUKE!"

The Kaze ex-heir interrupted him again, agitated he sighed.

"Sorry, I'll call you back later."

"_Ah…g-goodluck…_"

* * *

**You're my broken record that I can't stop spinning**

**Pollution in the air that I won't stop breathing**

**I'm coming to terms with always failing**

**And nothing ever seems to be stopping me**

**You're just like a drug**

* * *

He was standing outside the door knocking for some time now, the water still running but no movement was heard from inside.

_Shit_

"Yamanaka-san, are you alright?"

There was no answer, the water still running as a slight shot of panic rose up inside of him. Quickly, he reached down for the doorknob, pushing on the door as it gave away easily.

The pale blonde turned, staring at him blankly as she shivered, half exposed in the tub as the water flowed out.

He almost stopped breathing as he rushed towards the tub, turning the water off as he reached for the shocked woman. She was still awake, though clearly not sensible as she gazed past his shoulder in an almost dreamily fashion.

Ino made no move to make it easier on him as he wrapped his arms around her shivering form, lifting her out of the tub. Clutching her close to his chest, the best way to warm up a freezing person, he stumbled with her bundled in his arms out of the bathroom.

Her lips were tinted blue, the pale eyes more translucent as her teeth chattered as he wrapped her in the blankets, her wet denims still sticking to her legs. He cursed loudly—for once—his promise to keep the blonde safe was dwindling and he refused to let it happen that way.

"Sasuke!"

In his panic, he even forgot the tension between the Uchiha and himself.

"SASUKE!"

The blonde was still shaking as she managed a few choked words before she burst into tears.

Gaara swore silently as he realized the wet denim clinging to her legs only delayed the warming process. He needed to get it _off _her…somehow.

As if on cue, the other man scrambled into the room with a scowl on his face, ready to yell at the other man before his eyes settled on the shivering figure.

"Wha—The fuck!?"

"She's freezing!" The redhead proceeded to wrap the blonde in more blankets.

The dark haired man rushed over with the blankets from the adjacent bed, stopping halfway as he noticed the dark blue jeans covering the shaking legs.

"Get the pants off."

Gaara turned his head to the Uchiha heir as the blonde reached out for him, pulling her body towards his chest.

"No shit." The redhead eyed the jeans hesitantly. How would she feel being undressed without her consent? _He _didn't like anyone touching him in such ways either. But…an emergency is an emergency…

As he placed a hand on her bare stomach as he spoke to her slowly, "Yamanaka-san, I have…to remove your pants…"

Before he could reach for the zipper as the blonde chattered away, a hand roughly pushed him aside.

"You're too slow!"

Sasuke took a deep breath as he pulled the woman away from the redhead, reaching downwards towards the zipper. The blonde was turning blue now, for Kami's sake!

He knew the redhead was glowering at him for his rashness, but the blonde was freezing and her dignity would be the last thing on his list to save.

Yanking the tight material off her was the problem as both men struggled with the wet denim that clung to her legs like suction.

The moment they were able to remove the pants, she curled up into a fetal position, shivering as tears started trickling down her cheeks.

The dark haired man inhaled deeply. She was still freezing…and at this rate, she would suffer major repercussions.

Fuck. Didn't he take some stupid survival class with Naruto in high school?

"_If your friend fell into a river in the winter, what is the key action to keep them from freezing?" Onyx eyes regarded the prompt dully, "I'll let the stupid sucker freeze."_

"_WRONG!" _

_He glared at the blond that bounced up beside him, "What, dobe?"_

"_It's body heat!" Naruto, then decided to try and snuggle up at him before getting pushed off. _

Body heat.

Fuck.

Sasuke eyed the other man, said man, only glared back at him. Realizing that he had the upper hand, and that, of course he wouldn't let the red head touch Yamanaka…he'd been too close to her already…Sasuke…was up for the job.

Not that it made any difference that his heart was beating a little faster than usual. Nor the fact that he felt his hands clam up. Why was he nervous over someone like Yamanaka?

She was lying side ways, breathing still syncopated and sharp.

It was because he was nervous over her well-being. Only that. He needed her alive until he can finish the puzzle. That's all she was there for.

"Body heat."

He stated simply as the other man raised an eyebrow, opening his mouth to protest, but not fast enough. Sasuke had scooped up the shivering blonde curled up on the bed into his arms. The clammy cold skin prickled his as it came in contact with the thin button up. Upon contact, he felt the heat from his body dissipate quickly; it was getting quite uneasy for him, being in close range of another woman in such a long time.

Holding her closer to his body, he couldn't help but trail his eyes a little farther down on the pale neckline…to the black…

"Quit looking."

Sasuke's head snapped back up as he held the unconscious shivering blonde protectively, as he reached for a blanket.

"You are too."

Goddamn, he felt like a seven year old in an argument. But it wasn't easy, least to say, to keep his eyes from wandering towards the blonde's body again. She was fair skinned—not too pale like Hinata, but not too fake tanned like Sakura…just right. Though she wasn't voluptuous, she filled out nicely to fit the slender, tall frame she had.

Damn it. He was staring again.

The red head's glare increased as he opened his mouth to reply, Sasuke cut him off again.

"Go make yourself useful and help Kankurou. We're leaving tomorrow morning."

Gaara glowered, unable to banter with the raven haired man, he stomped towards the adjourning room.

Before exiting, he turned in the direction of the two figures, "And I thought for one minute you were back with Hyuuga, but now you're acting as if I'm competition for Yamanaka's favor."

Sasuke felt his grip tighten on the blonde as the other man left.

_Hinata…_

She was finally talking to him again…he…he can't mess it up this time.

But…did he really love her that much…still? Did he even love her in the first place?

It had been years, yet, he just started thinking about her again.

Was it even worth the trouble?

Sasuke shook his head.

_No, no it isn't. _

He glanced down at the sleeping blonde. He had more important things to do now than think about the Hyuuga—who, more or less, suddenly changed her mind.

Sasuke _had _tried to get her back; he tried to talk to her, nonetheless. She put all his efforts to waste. And that had been years ago. He had learned. Learned to love and never look back.

So what did she want with his life _now_? His stomach clenched at the thought. No, he wasn't angry, or sad, or anything that one might think he would be. He was slightly irritated. Irritated with her indecisiveness. If she hadn't wanted him back then. Why not? Was she just messing with him?

He lay down next to the blonde, cradling her slim frame in his arms. The muscles in his shoulders relaxed as he covered his face with the pillow, barely able to move his other arm because of the blonde's head.

"Argh."

Sasuke turned, his face now towards the blondes'. Her eyelashes touching her cheeks as she breathed, now regularly as the color in her face returned.

Ino had cried. She had cried over everything…and anything. She had no shame in doing it either, it didn't matter who she broke down in front of. Hinata…was a different story. It was almost too hard to catch her with her guard down. Too hard to get her angry, or show that she's sad. She had never once cried for him, unlike how Yamanaka was shamelessly crying over Shikamaru.

Hinata would hold it inside of herself, blame herself, and destruct herself. But she would never show anyone a weakness. Ino was different…If someone got hurt, she'll cry. If she got hurt, she'll cry. But she wouldn't smile if she didn't want to.

Somehow…he wanted someone like that too. Someone to cry over him without a care in the world, someone that wouldn't judge him on what he ever did or done. Someone as forgiving and open…

He reached up, pulling back a strand of blonde hair.

"If I got hurt," He slowly closed his eyes as he faced her, "Will you cry for me too?"

* * *

**You keep me faithfully overdramatic**

**Parasitic, you kill me from the inside**

* * *

**End Part IX: Like A Drug**

* * *

My Former Self – Like A Drug

I'm soo sorry this took so long to update! I just got caught up in school and then life. Haha, it's almost time for applications again and quarter finals are rolling around in two weeks. And here, I am feeling like there's not enough SasuInos out there. The SasuHinas are taking over! Hahah.

Well, if I had the time, I would personally thank everyone who reviewed, but I'm short on it, so please bear with me.

THANK YOU EVERYONE FOR R&R! You gals/guys are the bestest evers! I even made up two words for you guys. Hahah.

Your reviews really kept me up to finishing this story, so please do keep reviewing and telling me how you feel about it!

Please Read and Review!

**Ame no Megami**


	10. One Headlight

Disclaimer: No, I do not own Naruto.

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

* * *

**Part X: One Headlight**

**So long ago, I don't remember when,**

**That's when they say I lost my only friend.**

**Well, they said she died easy of a broken heart disease,**

**As I listened through the cemetery trees.**

* * *

Her chin resting on her palm, she stared dully out the window at the passing scenery. Honestly, she didn't know where they were going. Heck, she didn't really know what was going on in the first place. Ino was too embarrassed to ask, with her fuzzy memory of what happened the night before.

She had woken up, wrapped in a bundle of blankets and stripped to her underwear in a room of four guys. One tied up (so he was out by elimination); another nonchalant (she hadn't even spoken more than three words to Kankurou the whole trip); and the other two quiet and robotic as ever (which was quite suspicious to her).

_Awkward_, wasn't even the right word to explain their interactions that morning.

Then again, they had saved her. Emphasis on _again_.

She let out another depressed sigh. Being told she was useless was one thing, but knowing that she was useless was another. And she couldn't help but think that after this incident, they were going to refuse her help and send her back…back to sitting in that huge mansion, twiddling her thumbs and thinking of hypothetical situations in a different universe.

The cold bath was only supposed to _wake _her up that time. She didn't mean for it to go so far that she would lose consciousness. But it seemed like no one wanted or needed an explanation. It seemed…like they didn't _want _her at all!

So after she had woken and quietly dressed, they quickly packed up and readied to leave when a blue man, yes, _blue_, showed up in their room.

She had been ushered out of the room by Kankurou, followed by Gaara. Sasuke apparently had a quick word with the blue man (that's what she was going to keep calling him) and left him in charge of the badly beaten Kidou…Kidou-something, not that she cared anymore.

And now…now…they were in the van, heading off to…somewhere.

_I…I don't want to be discarded…I want to help…_

"Are you feeling sick again?"

Gaara's voice broke through her thoughts.

She turned towards him, shaking her head, "I'm just tired, that's all." It was true; she hadn't eaten for almost two days. The acid in her stomach had started to churn and she was sure it was on its way to burning a hole in her intestinal lining.

"Ah."

The car became quiet again. Pale blue eyes darted around, Uchiha was most likely asleep, the black cap, half on his head tilted down, covering most of his face as his seat was leaned back, almost touching Gaara's knees.

Speaking of the redhead, he seemed to avoid looking at her straight in the eye.

_Suspicious…_

"Hey kids," Kankurou's gruff voice stopped her speculations, "I need to take a piss, so we're taking a pit stop."

Gaara just grunted from beside her and the Uchiha shifted slightly in the front seat, both men totally missing the fact that Kankurou had just indiscriminately claimed that he needed to use the bathroom in such a vulgar manner.

Kankurou quickly took the nearest exit and Ino couldn't help but sigh. How could she forget? She was with three _guys_. They all probably, most definitely, took a peek last night.

She glanced over to the quiet redhead, Gaara was probably just too polite to say anything about it…and Uchiha could probably care less.

Which means…she shouldn't care about that incident either. She was a better woman now, a stronger woman. Someone with resolve; She wasn't going to wallow in her miseries forever. Shikamaru was gone, and there was nothing else to it. When she pleaded to become part of the hunt for Orochimaru—that had been her oath to the rest of the guys to stick it through until the end.

The car pulled into the nearest gas station and Kankurou immediately threw Gaara the car keys, "Fill the tank up for me."

Stepping quietly out of the car, the redhead proceeded at the task. She watched for a bit, before tentatively stepping out of the car and closing the door, facing him.

"Ah…Gaara-san?"

Beneath his cap, she could tell that his eyes were directed towards her—or a spot over her shoulder. She could feel her hands clamming up as she brought up the subject of…herself.

"Hn."

"Thank you…for saving me…" Her eyes darting to another object, as she tried to desperately find something else to look at.

He didn't say anything back, and by now, Ino could've sworn she was a different color from holding her breath. She could hear his footsteps as he filled the tank, but she didn't dare look at him—was she _embarrassed_?

"I'm also sorry for causing so much trouble," She blurted out, her heart racing, "But…But this time, I really do want to help to find _him_, so…please don't send me back!"

The opposing side made no sound, but suddenly, she felt a hand pat her on the shoulder. As soon as he had touched her, his hand had left her shoulder and he stepped past, heading towards the shop.

Ino blinked, looking over her shoulder, his touch still lingering on that spot.

_Wha__…What was that just now?_

Did he pat her to assure her that it was fine? That they weren't going to send her back? Or was it a pat of defeat and they had concluded she was in the way?

With her face downcast, she slid back into the car, sighing as she played with her hands. Well, she expressed what she wanted; it wasn't up to her now, was it?

* * *

**I see the sun coming up at the funeral at dawn,**

**The long broken arm of human law.**

**Now it always seemed such a waste,**

**She always had a pretty face.**

**So I wondered how she hung around this place.**

* * *

Peering from under his slanted cap, Sasuke could barely see the two figures beside the car. Though, he heard them pretty well.

_Look out for Yamanaka Ino? What the hell does Itachi mean by this?_

To him, she was no more than a burden, something he had to keep looking out for. But if his brother had taken the trouble to tell him that—and Itachi was a very keen man—Sasuke would have to just begrudgingly follow. To conclude, as 'troublesome' as she was, Yamanaka Ino will be under the tutelage (so that she wouldn't be so damned helpless next time) and surveillance (so that she wouldn't get into one of those situations again) of one lucky Uchiha Sasuke. Much to his discretion.

His eyes darted to her forlorn expression right before she reentered the car.

If there was an inside man…as Itachi had hinted, Sasuke would just have to be a little more careful. Though to his irritation, no one else he would trust enough to tell except for Gaara. Neji was also competent, but he was with the Hyuugas, and he didn't need Neji slipping anything to them by mistake—_if_ it was a mistake. And Kami forbid he tells Naruto anything secretive.

Sasuke also had the locked box dilemma. There was a key to the box. Now, where _is _the key? He sighed and glanced at the rearview mirror at the idle woman. She kept touching the brown wig on her head.

Did it itch or something?

His eyes lingered down to her pale, thin face; the piercing blue eyes seem to have lost their shine. Maybe, maybe…he felt sorry for her. Then again, she started all the trouble. If she had just stayed put and not gone…

And that's when it dawned upon him. Well, that was, right after her stomach growled and he could tell she was trying to play it off as if she thought he was asleep.

"I'm hungry," He stated simply.

He could see the blue eyes flicker in his direction. Reaching for his wallet, he tossed it in her direction.

"Chips and water. Get whatever else you want."

She stared back, fingers lacing the expensive black leather, "A-Anything?"

_Is…he being nice to me…?_

There was a slight pause before he answered, "If you gain unnecessary weight in any places afterwards, it's not my fault."

Her face tinged a slight pink as she huffed, clutching the wallet, she almost stomped out of the car when the other door opened and Gaara entered. She could also see Kankurou making his way to the car with a huge bag in his hand.

"Uh…" Ino glanced over to Gaara as he placed his own bag on his lap. Was there not enough time for her to run in…? Watching the Kaze ex-heir pull food out of his bag, she could feel her mouth water.

_Oh…my…_

Was that…?

The redhead threw her an inquisitive look, "Do you like donuts?" At that moment, all other thoughts ceased to operate in Ino's head. Forget about the prospect of being thrown off the mission—her stomach was in control now.

"I DO!"

She almost pounced on him. _Almost_.

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her enthusiasm, "The donut didn't propose to you." As the words flew out of his mouth, he almost choked. He didn't mean to say _that_.

Even Kankurou stopped humming. The dark haired man could feel the redhead's disastrous aura from behind him.

* * *

**Hey, come on try a little, nothing is forever.**

**There's got to be something better than**

**In the middle.**

**But me and Cinderella, we put it all together,**

**We can drive it home, with one headlight.**

* * *

The silence engulfed the car as Ino tentatively set down the box of donuts. They all seemed tense; all knowing that statement hit a nerve. If it had been her the day before…

"I-It's okay now," She took a deep breath and smiled towards the redhead that looked like he would strangle the Uchiha from the back any minute.

"Really, it's okay. It's the past. What's done is done, right?"

Everyone exhaled at the same time.

"But, Uchiha-san…" Ino stuck her head coyly next to his head rest, "I still want an apology."

The dark haired man made an indignant expression, looking away from the blue eyed woman, "Whatever, sorry." He rushed through it, though somewhere in the pit of his stomach, he felt like he owed her another one.

Ino leaned back to her seat, occupying herself with the donuts and conversing with Gaara about the amount of food he bought—and how _thankful _she was. Sasuke scoffed, catching the redhead's attention.

"Do you want anything?" Gaara directed a look at the dark haired man in front.

Sasuke glanced at the food displayed on the small space between the two people in the back. Donuts, sour patch kids, kit kats, soda, Gatorade, more soda, and peanut butter sandwiches. Was the stupid Kaze ex-heir trying to give him diabetes?! Sasuke utterly loathed sweet food. In fact, he didn't think he even had one sweet tooth in his mouth. With that, the Uchiha heir made such a face, that made the blonde stop shoving donuts down her throat and pause, whilst, Sasuke was very sure he saw a twinkle of revenge in Gaara's eyes.

_Oh hell no…_

The redhead _knew _he didn't like sweet food…and on purpose got everything covered and filled with sugar possible.

"No." Sasuke turned around, almost showing his irritation.

"Youf don'tf like dohnutsfs?" Ino almost choked trying to get that sentence out and continue eating at the same time. She didn't care at this point, how much of an ass Sasuke was, or if they had seen her in all her glory or whatever, she had _food_.

"I'm glad you've inhaled a donut to replace your missing brain, but I don't speak that language."

"Hmph." Her mood right now was a too good to be ruined by him.

Swallowing the current piece in her mouth, she picked up her fourth donut, but this time, she leaned forward, "Come on, it's not _that _bad. Gaara-san's eating it!" She waved the glazed donut in front of his face, laughing slightly at his grimace when the glazed flakes fell on him. It was harassment in a way…but Ino was enjoying it, and as long as Ino was smiling, Sasuke knew that neither Gaara nor he would stop her at this point.

Sasuke pulled his cap down further, inching to another corner of the seat as he watched her woof down another donut while still waggling the previous one in front of his face. What was that, her fourth or fifth donut? And he glanced at the side mirror to see Gaara also eating one…or two too.

The dark haired man smirked, turning his black orbs at the unsuspecting duo. This is for the donut harassment.

"You know what they say, 'A moment on the lips, and forever on the hips'."

The donut stopped halfway from Gaara's mouth while Ino lost grip of her fifth donut.

* * *

**She said its cold, it feels like Independence Day.**

**And I can't break away from this parade.**

**But there's got to be an opening, somewhere in front of me**

**Through this maze of ugliness and greed**

**And I see the sun up ahead, at the county line bridge.**

**Saying all there's good and nothingness is dead**

**We'll run until she's out of breath, She ran until there's nothing left**

**She hit the end—it's just her window ledge**

* * *

"Ergg…."

In the front seat, she could hear Sasuke grunt, "We're almost back. Hold it."

Why did this always happen to her?! She groaned, her head throbbing, and her stomach just as empty as when they had started the trip back. In her hand, she clutched a plastic bag lining a brown paper bag—just in case.

Her wig was lying on the floor of the car and she could feel her blonde hair being held back by Gaara as she lay sprawled across the backseat, her head on his lap. The back of her neck touched his bare, toned torso and she felt herself flush pink. She was _so _ashamed.

If there was a God out there somewhere…he really despised her right now. Like, really.

Even after all she did, here she was, still lying on his lap. She had her flaming face turned away, too embarrassed to face the redhead. All her apologies still did not seem enough and even though he didn't look like he minded, it still mortified the hell out of her.

"You're just like a trash chute. A one-way one." The dark haired man egged on, a little amused. Serves the Kaze ex-heir right.

Ino clutched the seat, breathing ragged to keep her stomach from lurching again.

"I…hate you…."

"The feeling's mutual. And maybe Sabaku does too."

Ino tensed up.

"Don't be putting words in my mouth, Uchiha. And don't provoke her either."

"Hmph."

How childish, "You're just grumpy." Ino wagged her tongue from where she was laying.

Sasuke turned around and glared, "What?"

Above her, Gaara sighed, but she continued anyway, "You're just a grumpy kid who's hungry. That's what you get."

Ebony eyes narrowed at her, "The very reason for _me _being hungry is because _you _ate everything and then promptly regurgitated it."

"That's because," Ino scrunched her face at the sight of his, "With that stick so far up your ass, I'm pretty sure it dislocated your cerebellum. I wasn't sure if you could even do physical processes such as chewing, so I thought of chewing the food up for you. You should be grateful."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something else, but Kankurou interrupted, drawing his attention away.

She could feel the car slowing down as they entered a compound. Probably the Hyuu…she noticed the lack of trees and the presence of an incredibly large wall…? Is that supposed to be a gate?! Where the hell is she?!

Sitting up a little too abruptly, the blood rushed to her head as she let out a small wail, the plastic bag immediately shoved in front of her face and she could feel Gaara's presence on the other side of it.

"We're at the Uchiha Compound." The redhead explained, still holding the bag in front of her, just in case. He did not need a repeat of what happened two and a half hours earlier. His jacket, t-shirt and wife-beater were rolled up in a plastic bag, lying in the trunk.

The blonde dry-heaved, fanning herself, "S-Sorry Gaara-san."

Sasuke grunted in response for the redhead, "Get out."

"Huh?" The blonde stared, confused as the doors to the car was opened for them, men in suits gave her a curt bow.

"Welcome home Sasuke-sama." A dark haired man with bags under his eyes bowed to the Uchiha.

That was when she felt incredibly inferior with her mussed blonde hair, wrinkled clothing, pale face, barf bag, and a half naked Gaara beside her.

_Is this a business tycoon's living area…or is it a yakuza's?!_

* * *

**Man, I ain't changed, but I know I ain't the same**

**But somewhere here in between the city walls of dying dreams,**

**I think her death—it must be killing me.**

**End: Part X: One Headlight**

* * *

Hahah, I love Ino and her motion-sickness (I have a pretty bad case of it too)…but I feel bad for Gaara, though he's just too nice, something like that would've happened sooner or later! XD

Oh my goodness…how long has it been since I last updated?! I'm sooo sorry for taking so long, and I really hope that…there's still someone out there reading/tracking this! Hahaha. Since it's summer soon, I should be able to get a few more chapters out, hopefully. This is going to be a pretty long series…so please, comments, opinions, criticism, whatever! I like reviews! Ahah it motivates me to know that, yes, there is a point to writing this. : Please disregard the bad grammar and spelling! XD Thanks!

Oh, I'd also like your opinions on who Hinata ends up with and who Sakura ends up with! And don't worry about Naruto and Neji, they'll be getting their screen time soon! Haha.

So, I'd like to thank everyone out there that reviewed and read my story so far! : Much love!

Enjoy!

**Ame**** no Megami**


	11. Devastation Hands

**Number Five With A Bullet:**

* * *

**Part XI: Devastation Hands**

**You got your pieces**

**And you got your pawns**

**You got devastation hands**

**And a life that leads like insanity**

* * *

Ino blinked once. Twice, at the sight before her. She brushed a limp strand of blonde hair away, tired eyes wide in…horror?

Okay, seriously, was she going crazy? True, she hadn't been able to sleep or eat for awhile, but now she was hallucinating?

No, no, she couldn't be the one crazy. It had to be him. Of course that must be the answer. Leaving her for five weeks and he comes back grinning like a maniac—okay not grinning like a maniac—but that smile was creepy as hell.

And did he really take her hair comment to heart? Because it's so…so…_flat_ now. And his wardrobe…what can she say about the black, skin tight turtle neck and fitting jeans…except, flaming!

"Yamanaka-san, you make me blush when you stare at me like that." Sasuke—or the now alien—gushed, the smile still plastered on his face. Yup, he definitely did _not _swing her way. Damn, Uchiha must've been knocked over his head quite hard. Maybe this was the reason why they kept him away from her so long.

The blonde could only gape at the dark haired man before her. This was seriously creepy. She made an incoherent sound in her throat as she skirted around the man.

He was the same build, same hair color, same skin color…but his personality just threw her off the rocker…or he was the one off his…

Then it hit her and she laughed loudly, making the man smile uncertainly at her.

"I get it, I get it. Is this your new disguise?" She wasn't sure if she should be shocked or amused, "You really pull off that flamboyant vibe real well…"

She had been planning to give Uchiha a piece of her mind once he returned to the barren Mansion he had stuck her in…but now…Wow.

The man only stared at her, slightly confused as he cocked his head, "Sorry?"

"No, no. That's okay. I'm quite curious about our new mis—" She was cut off by another voice.

"Yamanaka-san."

The deep voice from behind her froze the blonde in place. She could only blink a few times at the still smiling dark haired man before turning around to be face to face with…another raven haired man.

Cerulean blue eyes darted back and forth between the two almost mirror images.

"Oh my Kami, are we all dressing up as Uchiha Sasukes now?!"

The second man face-faulted, almost seeming like he wanted to slap himself before he spoke evenly, "Yamanaka-san, this is my cousin, Sai."

That was when her brain ceased all processing information.

"Nice to meet you!" The first man perked.

She could only stare with her mouth slightly open.

_What…? Whaaaat?_

What could she say now? She just thought he was Uchiha and called him _flamboyant_.

Sai—or so he was called hovered towards her, "Are you alright?"

Before she could say anything, the Uchiha had already brushed past her, giving his cousin an offhanded look.

"Did you forget how to talk? It's okay, Sai knows how to tame beasts." Uchiha gave her a smirk as Sai smiled, unmoved by the last comment.

_Oh my Kami, they're related._

And before she could utter a 'Fuck you, Uchiha', her knees buckled and her vision went dark.

* * *

**What you need is what you need**

**A little something that will take the edge off**

**Just a little push to get you to the ledge**

**You can jump it from**

**And when you're jumping**

**Only you would ever know again**

* * *

"Your face must've scared her to death."

"…"

Some clinking sounds of tableware were heard.

"I didn't know you had _that _effect on women."

There was a scuttle of movement before everything settled.

"I didn't call you over for this."

"Noope, you didn't call me at all! I wanted to visit."

Silence.

She groaned slightly, her head was pounding. It was hard to breath, her breathing was shallow.

"That was the point you missed."

"Oh? Did you want to be alone with her?"

Ino rolled over towards the voices.

"Keep your voice down."

She blinked blearily at the light, her vision fuzzy.

"How are you feeling?"

A hand braced her as she tried to sit up, leaning on the sofa for support.

"What?" She muttered irritably. Her head felt like someone was repeatedly stomping on it and why the hell was everything so damn bright? She groaned at the overhead lighting, grasping her head.

"You haven't been eating."

Ino fidgeted away from the Uchiha, who happened to seat himself to her left.

"Hai, hai, Ino-chan looks quite famished," The cousin agreed wholeheartedly, which made her grimace as the Uchiha had a grip on her thin wrist.

"Why weren't you eating?" She tried not to look into his eyes, "Did you not like the food Satomi makes?"

Ino shook her head. She just didn't _feel _like eating! It wasn't like she did enough during the day for her to be hungry.

"Is there something you want?"

"No," She shook her head, "Some bread would be fine." Sai nodded, heading off to the kitchen…which left her with the last person she wanted to face at the moment.

His hand still wrapped around her wrist. She didn't even bother to try and shake him off.

"Look at me."

She turned reluctantly towards him, eyes on a distant object over his shoulder. Ino didn't want to talk to him about anything at this point. She was incredibly tired. Tired but relieved. She felt safe. She felt the atmosphere, even if it was just the two cousins. For many nights, she had recurring nightmares—like the time at the Hyuuga Mansion.

His cold hand cupped her face and she flinched, wrenching out of his light grip.

"You haven't slept in awhile."

Ino shrugged, "Insomnia."

Sasuke looked like he wanted to say something, but instead, sighed. When she looked at him a little more carefully, she noticed the lines around his eyes too.

"You don't look that great yourself either."

He looked a bit torn, but gave a small scoff, "Yeah." Sasuke stood up as Sai reentered the living room, "I'm going to shower." Her eyes trailed after him. His behavior was peculiar; he had been exceptionally understanding and _nice_ about it.

* * *

**You live for love**

**But the love's all gone**

**Surround yourself with genius**

**But the meanness is enough to kill someone**

* * *

She could stop worrying for a bit, knowing that they were all well—or at least alive. Gaara was out with on a business trip, so he hadn't been there, but she imagined he was just as worn out as Uchiha.

Speaking of which, after he declared his shower, she hadn't seen him for the rest of the night. Sai was staying in a guest room near hers and Sasuke…was off somewhere. The cousin wasn't as moody or anti-social as Uchiha, but that smile of his unnerved her a bit. He was albeit, quite nice. He told her that he was assigned as her next 'partner', but didn't disclose anything else.

Whatever it was, at least she was with someone else.

Just as she reached over to turn off the lamp, a knock was heard on her door.

_Huh? Sai?_

She stumbled out of bed, "Coming!"

Opening the door, she was faced with a disheveled Uchiha Sasuke, his hair still spiky, but without form, a loose long-sleeved sleep shirt and gray slacks.

"There are some things…you need to know."

The blonde just blinked, opening the door wider for him to enter. He made a straight beeline to her desk, pulling out the chair to sit. Noticing her own outfit—a loose tank top and sleeping boxers the maid had gotten for her—she scrambled to the bed, wrapping the comforter around her.

"Well…" She started at his silence.

His mouth twitched. Ino raised an eyebrow at the gesture. What was so hard to say?

This time, it was his hand that twitched, "…Sorry…" He was apologizing? To her? "…about not being able to…check up on you sooner." His head did a funny movement, but Ino could over look that at the moment. "I…didn't think of the consequences of leaving…someone alone for such a long time…"

Ino was, more or less astounded. He _apologized_. To her! At…she glanced at the clock…one in the morning! Exhaustion covered his features, from his complexion to his eyes and the way he was so spastic and emotional.

"I-It's alright," She stammered, feeling the heat rise in her cheeks and her eyes watering. Ino was _not _going to cry at the little act of compassion he decided to show. Or…the one act of sympathy she had gotten in the longest time.

Sniffling, she managed, "You didn't have to come here this late for it. I'm not holding it against you."

But he caught the moment she sniffed, eyes wide like a deer caught in headlights.

"B-But…thanks," Ino gave him a teary smile. It made her feel better, at the least. Before, it had been so dark, so cold and lonely. The sudden charge of her to the Uchiha Mansion solo made her feel trapped. There had no one to talk to, to confine in. There was no contact made to her either, and that made her worry…

"I-I always worried," She choked, the hot tears now running freely, "That something happened to you guys…that…that…again…I-I…"

She hadn't noticed that he moved from the chair and now sat beside her, a hand on her head tentatively. But she continued to sniffle.

* * *

**So you learn what you learn**

**You drink your blessings**

**And you take your pills**

**You look for something better**

**But you've lost your will to save yourself**

**So the hurt keeps coming**

* * *

Glancing at the clock, the dark haired woman couldn't help but feel restless. He hadn't returned. He'd been staying at her place for over a month. She had adjusted to his presence well, once again. But this time, she sighed, he distanced himself more than ever from her.

Calling her 'Hinata' again was something she'd wanted, but his eyes always had that faraway look, his face forlorn and his hands always working, working on something.

Knowing that he wasn't the same person as he used to be, Hinata was even more compelled to have him again.

He didn't have to do this. He didn't have to jump into such a mess.

She could offer him solace. Just her family title with his was enough to scare away competitors. And he didn't have to go searching for that person.

But she knew the reason why he stuck with it was because he had made a promise. A promise to _her_; that blonde haired woman.

Hinata felt her fingers clench on the fabric of the comforter. Odds were that he was there right at the moment; with that other woman. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. He wasn't something she would get worked up over. Not now.

He had been hers. And she wasn't going to give him up anytime soon.

She reached over, grabbing her cell phone on the nightstand.

* * *

**Only you would ever know who was your friend**

**I know**

**What you need**

* * *

Sasuke wasn't sure how he ended up sitting beside the bawling blonde, his hand patting her on the head reassuringly.

He wasn't sure why he was even in her room apologizing at 1 a.m. That could've waited until the next morning—and so could his other information. But now it seemed like he wasn't going to even get to that part. His head was all woozy now, and he'd been running on caffeine for the past three days. All he needed was for her to stop crying so he can go to bed.

"We're not dead," He rolled his eyes. _Yet_. Sasuke liked to look at things pessimistically—just in case.

But that had been a taboo word for her and she latched on, crying harder against his chest. Goddamn his head hurt at this point and his eyes could barely stay open.

"Yamanaka-san…" Sasuke could hear himself saying as he patted her on the back, his head resting on hers. His eyelids were so heavy, "It'll be alright…" The voice was foreign to him, even though he knew it was his.

"…It'll be alright…"

She smelled like…rosemary mint…it was refreshing to him, even though it was the same shampoo and soap used throughout the mansion. But it calmed him and he felt himself drifting away for the first time in a few days.

Holding her was another thing, and it sent a shock through his body. She was so warm and he felt his thoughts muddle at that moment.

_Ah…_

He'd forgotten to call Hinata…since her Estate was where he had been residing to thwart any thoughts of Ino's location.

They weren't going out again, but he could feel Hinata warming up to him. But, it wouldn't go back to the old days. Nothing will be the same. Hinata was Hinata, a figment of his past. Of someone he could've been, would've been. He was not someone she would or should need. There was no reason left for him to impede on her any longer. The lesser the contact, the better.

Now his path was different.

Revenge was it?

Power?

Safety?

What would the downfall of Sound Inc. really contribute?

Hinata and Hyuuga Corporation were clean. At least cleaner than his and his alliances with Naruto and Gaara. Cleaner than the woman in his arms at the moment. Hinata, who had never had her hands stained with blood wouldn't know. She wouldn't understand him at this point.

He didn't notice his grip around the blonde tighten, nor her crying subsiding.

The throbbing pain on his head increased, but he felt slightly content, being where he was—with someone else for a change. Someone else who could understand his pain. His head slipped from the top of her head and he buried it in the crook of her neck, not detecting the flinch from the blonde.

"U-Uchiha?" The blonde moved her hands from his chest away as she tried to steady his body leaning against hers. His breathing was deep and even, and she could feel his breath on her neck. Her body was subsiding to the heat radiating off of him.

She repeated, still getting no answer. Untangling his arms around her, she was able to lie him down horizontally on the bed, his legs still hanging off. Sighing, she instantly missed the other body's heat. Chuckling softly at his pale features she could imagine her own as a mirror image.

Brushing a strand of his hair out of his face, she felt the corners of her lips turn up, "Thanks…"

Not knowing what compelled her, she curled up next to him, draping the comforter over them both. He could finish what he wanted to say tomorrow. Ino was incredibly tired and sleep was never more inviting.

* * *

**You need someone to help you tonight**

**Only when you're here can I feel like this**

**When I put my arms around you**

* * *

"Thanks," The redhead nodded at the white-haired man who handed him the briefcase. They both made their way to the car. The meeting with the manager of the Kiri branch went longer than expected. He turned around to bow at the manager—Sarutobi Asuma.

_Click_

Four pairs of eyes turned towards the sound. The white-haired man smiled; two handguns in place.

"Gomen, Sabaku-kun, Sarutobi-san."

* * *

**Only when you smile does it hurt like this**

**Just let somebody love you**

* * *

**End Part XI: Devastation Hands**

* * *

:O Oh noes! Gaara!

I know I made Ino and Sasuke a little friendlier in this chapter…but they're both exhausted and arguing wasn't going to get them anywhere.

I'm guessing you guys all know who the spy now, riiight?

Anyways, read and review! Feedback is always welcomed!

**Ame no Megami**


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